The Subcontinent is fortunate to have produced more world class spin bowlers than any other part of the world. Except former Australian great leg spinner Shane Warne, all leading Test spinners belong to Asia. The leading Test spinner Muttiah Muralitharan belongs to Sri Lanka. He took more than six wickets per Test. He topped the ICC Test Bowlers Rankings for a record 1,711 days.
Asian spinners rule the world of cricket because in the Subcontinent there are mostly flat tracks that support spinners from the day three. Second, batsmen of countries outside Asia are weak against quality spin bowling.
Pakistan has produced not only world-class fast bowers like Fazal Mehmood, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis but also many outstanding spinners like Abdul Qadir, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq, Saeed Ajmal, and Yasir Shah.
In the first Test of the ongoing series against Australia, spinner Shadab Khan’s injury meant off-spinner Bilal Asif becoming a Test player at the age of 33.
Bilal overshadowed his more experienced teammate Yasir Shah and proved his skills with 6-36 in Australia’s first innings. He took four Australian wickets in the space of just 22 balls.
But in the second innings, he failed to repeat his performance, not getting any wicket and giving away 87 runs, which meant Australia escaped a defeat that had looked a certainty on the fourth day.
One innings performance is not enough to consider him the replacement of great off-spinner Saeed Ajmal. At the age of 33, Bilal doesn’t have enough time to play for Pakistan long.
Bilal’s height helps him get more bounce with slight movement. It created problems for the inexperienced Australian middle-order. He also used doosra effectively.
Bilal’s 6-36 is the third best figures for a Pakistani bowler on Test debut. Only fast bowler Mohammad Zahid (7-66) in 1996 against New Zealand in Rawalpindi and spinner Mohammad Nazir (7-99) against New Zealand in Karachi way back in 1969 have been better than Bilal on debut.
Bilal made his first-class debut in 2011 at the age of 26 for Sialkot but only played 11 matches in his first four seasons.
Veteran player Shoaib Malik played a vital role in Bilal’s comeback to Pakistan cricket. Bilal drew attention by picking 17 first-class wickets in 2014-15 season at an average of 27.35.
He took nine wickets in the Pakistan T20 Cup in Rawalpindi. He also scored 310 runs in six matches.
With his impressive performance, selectors picked him for tour of Sri Lanka in 2015 but he didn’t get a chance.
Bilal finally made his international debut against Zimbabwe in the second ODI in Harare in October 2015, where he opened the batting alongside the stand-in captain, Azhar Ali, but failed to open his account. He also failed to take any wicket while conceding 39 runs in eight overs.
But in his next game, also against Zimbabwe, he proved his all-round skills with five wickets for 25 and scoring 38 off 39 balls, hitting six fours and a six as an opener. He received the Man-of-the-Match award.
Unfortunately he was reported for a suspect action following the third ODI against Zimbabwe. A total of eight deliveries from Bilal were reported by the match officials. But he was cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after an assessment in India.
Bilal considers off-spinner Amir Waseem his mentor who trained him at Tony cricket club in Sialkot.
Bilal’s uncle Zahid Saeed was a left-arm fast bowler who played 75 first-class matches, taking 299 wickets at an average of 24.54. Saeed was among 22 probable players for a training camp for the home series against India in 2004, but he didn’t get a place in the team.