Shane Warne has labelled Pakistan’s Yasir Shah “the best spinner in the world” after a training session with him – and has offered his help to England’s Adil Rashid as well.
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Australia great Warne visited Pakistan’s training ground in Sharjah, where they are preparing for the third Test against England which starts on Sunday, to work with his fellow leg-spinner.
Shah, 29, has played only 11 Tests but has started superbly with 69 wickets at an average of 24.55, with four five-wicket hauls including a best of seven for 76 against Sri Lanka at Galle in June.
He took four wickets in each innings of the second Test against England and after working with him, Warne saluted a “natural talent” who he hopes will “smash” his own tally of 708 Test wickets – second in history to Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan.
He said: “I have always been a fan of Shah since the first time I saw him a while ago – probably the best leg-spinner in the world, the way the ball comes out of his hand.
“It was a fantastic opportunity to work with Yasir. He is a wonderful bowler, beautiful, so we just worked on thinking who he has been having troubles with in the England side, some tactics and plans.
Just finished a net session with Yasir Shah. He has the best leg break I’ve ever seen !! He was… https://t.co/uNy5cuXyFF
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) October 29, 2015
“He wants a bit more drift and bounce and little things that can help. I hope by the end of the series he will be bowling beautifully with a huge smile on his face.”
Shah told Cricinfo: “I had a wish from my childhood that I could bowl with (Warne) and I was excited to have him here for me.
“You get a lot of spin with the drift and that’s the thing I asked him, as he did it very well and I can’t get the break with the drift. He talked about my quickness through my action as the shortcoming so I will work on this.”
Despite Shah’s relatively late start in Test cricket, Warne does not feel time will prove a barrier to him.
“He has got all the toys,” Warne added.
“He has got a good wrong’un (googly), he has got a good straighter one, he has got a ripping leg-break. I haven’t seen too many leg-breaks like that in all my years.
“I hope he smashes my records. I hope people just enjoy watching Yasir Shah bowl so if he goes on to take 700 wickets it will be fantastic. He has a good 10 years in him and with the amount of Test cricket you play these days, he can take some 600 wickets or maybe even more.
Rashid also waited several years for his Test debut and toiled in the first innings of the series opener in Abu Dhabi, with figures of no wicket for 163 runs, but bounced back well with five for 64 in the second innings.
He added two more wickets and a dogged 61 with the bat in the second Test in Dubai.
Warne would love the opportunity to also work with the 27-year-old Yorkshireman but would understand if Trevor Bayliss and the England set-up viewed it as a conflict of interests.
“I am not sure if I will be joining the England team tomorrow,” he said. “Because of my work with Pakistan, if they don’t want to then that’s fine but I am happy to work with Rashid. No problem at all.”
