Spinners are playing huge role in T20s: Mushtaq Ahmed

Twenty20 cricket is heavily loaded in the favour of batsmen but Mushtaq Ahmed reckons that the spinners of late have been able to influence the outcome of the matches in the shortest format.

Ahmed, one of the best leg-spinners the game has seen, said the best thing about spinners is that they have a lot of variety to attack the batsmen.

"A lot of teams are winning the matches because of spinners. I believe spinners have more variations like they have carom ball, doosra, googly and flipper. Spinners are playing a huge role in Twenty20 cricket. The spinners can take wickets in the middle at the crucial time. I think the spinners are playing a huge role," Mushtaq, who is Delhi Daredevils's bowling consultant, told reporters ahead of their match against Rajasthan Royals.

Two spinners -- Amit Mishra and Sunil Narine -- feature in the top five bowlers this season thus far.

Mushtaq advised that to become a successful spinner, one need not worry about containing the batsman but spin the ball as hard as possible.

"Spin the ball as hard as you can. Not to worry about containing any batsman. Be smart with your field position and you will see the results," he said.

Mushtaq, former Pakistan leg-spinner and England's bowling coach, said a number of spinners has impressed him in the sixth edition of the IPL.

"There are plenty of them. Shahbaz Nadeem, Jeevan Mendis, Johan Botha from our team. Then from opposition, you have Amit Mishra, Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha," he said.

Mushtaq said as a coach and a leg-spinner, his advice to the youngsters is not to worry about the opposition but just express yourself on the field and keep faith in your strength.

"I believe cricket coaching is all about not to tell a player how to play cricket, it's about managing him. Especially in IPL, you have 50,000 people coming and watching your game. You try to bowl against Sachin, Pollard or Gayle. As a coach, you learn how to express your feeling, how to pass that feeling to a young spinner.

"Not to worry about the sixes, not to worry about the crowd, just go and express yourself. Temperament is the key to success for me. What I learnt as a player, never worry about the situation and always remember your strength. Not to worry about the opposition.

"If you give that much time to a player, they are able to cope up with the situation," he added.

His advice to the leg spinners - "They are like a tree, and if you are a good gardener, you can grow that tree, then for rest of your life, you can have fruits and shade."

Commenting on Delhi Daredevils' disappointing campaign in the tournament, he said, "Honestly, we did not play good enough cricket. But we still have five games left, we need to play hard cricket, we need to tell people that we are a good team but we did not play well. But we can still finish well."

He said Daredevils are not wary of Rajasthan's impeccable 'home' record where they have won all their six games at 'Fort SMS'.

"They know the ground and wicket condition. Home crowd and home condition can both inspire you," he signed off.