Bangladesh Coach Snubs India-Pakistan While Naming World’s Top 3 Spinners

Mushtaq Ahmed snubs Kuldeep Yadav from World's Top 3 Spinners ranking [Source: AFP]

Former Pakistan spinner and Bangladesh coach Mushtaq Ahmed has picked his three best spinners in world cricket right now, basing his choices largely on consistency and their ability to keep delivering at the highest level. 

Mushtaq Ahmed's selection, however, had an unlikely omission with no place for India’s Kuldeep Yadav despite the left-arm wrist-spinner’s remarkable record across formats in recent years. Ahmed instead opted for three names from Bangladesh, South Africa and England.

Pakistan veteran ranks Bangladesh spinner among Top 3 of the world

Mushtaq Ahmed has placed Bangladesh's Taijul Islam among his three best spinners in international cricket at present. Alongside Taijul, the former Pakistan spinner selected South Africa's Keshav Maharaj and England's Adil Rashid, highlighting their consistency and ability to perform across challenging conditions.

Interestingly, Mushtaq's list does not feature a single spinner from India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka. His assessment appears to be driven more by sustained performances than reputation, with Taijul's long-term impact for Bangladesh particularly impressing him.

"I believe Taijul Islam who has 270+ wickets left-arm spinner, Keshav Maharaj from South Africa, Adil Rashid from England. You can see lot of cricketers who are executing and delivering the best even in white-ball cricket," Mushtaq said.

Explaining his choices, Mushtaq Ahmed added, "At the moment, if you see off-spinners or any left-arm spinners who are consistently bowling good overs because now you can challenge people’s techniques and expose the techniques. So, the three of them I mentioned are very good in international cricket."

Mushtaq also acknowledged Bangladesh's other spin options, praising Mehidy Hasan Miraz for his 200-plus wickets and Rishad Hossain for his development.

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Mushtaq Ahmed names possibility of Australia spinner in Top 3

While Nathan Lyon did not make Mushtaq's final three, the Australian veteran was clearly part of the conversation. In fact, the former Pakistan spinner expressed surprise that Lyon has not been used more regularly in Australia's ODI setup.

Lyon's recent international workload has been heavily tilted towards Test cricket. The 38-year-old has played 143 Tests for Australia but has featured in only 29 ODIs, making his limited involvement in the 50-over format a curious point for Mushtaq.

"I’m shocked Nathan Lyon is not playing ODI cricket because I think he still can play ODI cricket. I don’t know why Australia never considered him," Mushtaq Ahmed said.

Possible reason behind Mushtaq choosing Taijul over Kuldeep and others

One possible explanation for Kuldeep Yadav missing out could be the sheer impact Taijul Islam has generated with fewer opportunities. 

While Kuldeep has a stronger overall record in several key metrics, the Bangladesh left-arm spinner has been remarkably productive whenever he has taken the field.

Since 2024, Taijul has claimed 77 wickets in just 16 matches across formats, compared with Kuldeep Yadav's 75 wickets from 36 matches. 

That means Taijul has reached a similar wicket tally despite playing in less than half the number of matches. The difference becomes even more interesting when the focus shifts to strike rate.

[Spinners with most wickets across formats since 2024]

Although Kuldeep remains ahead in terms of efficiency across the broader five-year timeline, Taijul's ability to repeatedly produce wickets in a relatively limited number of appearances across formats could have influenced Mushtaq's assessment of consistency and impact.

Taijul Islam has also recorded seven five-wicket hauls since 2024, compared with Kuldeep Yadav's one. That statistic underlines how frequently the Bangladesh spinner has turned his spells into major match-changing performances, justifying Mushtaq’s choice.

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