Is Saeed Ajmal the best spinner in the world at the moment?

For nearly 15 years, the trio of Warne, Murali and Kumble enthralled us by weaving their magic day in day out and bamboozled batsmen all around the world. As the trio called it a day, there haven’t been many spinners who have mesmerized us with their trickery and guile since then. The ones who have caught the attention in the last 5-6 years would be Daniel Vettori, Harbhajan Singh until the ball simply stopped spinning for him, Ravi Ashwin very recently and of course Graeme Swann who helped England win many games with his consistency and experience. But, in the last couple of years one man who has sort of revived the diminishing art of spin bowling in world cricket through his unique skill, variety and sheer volume of wickets is Saeed Ajmal, who seems to be having his way with the batsmen in the same way as the great trio did, although they did it for several years. But, it is pretty evident that batsmen around the world are having nightmares picking him. If we go down memory lane, even Sachin Tendulkar had some trouble picking him in the 2011 World Cup semi-final, let along anybody else.
    The thing with Saeed Ajmal’s career is that he always had the talent to make it big in international cricket but he was never given a long run of matches in the Pakistan side to prove himself and settle down in international cricket. The reason for such a ploy from the Pakistani selectors was always hard to comprehend, as is the case with Pakistan cricket most of the times. So it’s only fair to say that Pakistan lost his services and match winning ability for many many years due to politics and other wrong reasons. But currently his rankings and record speak for themselves and that how prolific he has been in the last couple of years. He is currently the No 1 spinner in the ICC Rankings and was the leader in the number of wickets column in tests in 2012. He is also not far behind in 2013 notching up wickets at an impressive average of just over 20 in both ODI and tests.
    Ajmal reminds many of former Pakistani spinner Saqlain Mushtaq because of his bowling style and a similar ‘doosra’ but I would go on to say that Saqlain was never as prolific but he was much stronger mentally. Mental strength and grit is an area where a Graeme Swann would score over Ajmal in this era. Talking about his other competitiors, it can be said that Ashwin hasn’t been tested as much in overseas conditions and so can’t be considered in the same league. Vettori and Harbhajan may be past their prime at the top level and so it’s between Swann and Ajmal, who could hold the baton of being the best spinner in the world. It is a tough one but considering the present scenario, I think, Ajmal would fair some way above Swann due to his immense variety and match winning ability on pitches all round the world. Batsmen do not seem to have a clue against him most of the time. With age not on his side, it remains to be seen how long Ajmal keeps going at the top level because he can definitely act as important cog in the wheel for Pakistan cricket’s revival and Pakistan should reciprocate by putting adequate trust on him, for the man today is indeed the best spinner in the world at the moment.