Mushtaq Ahmed is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in both ODIs and Tests for his country. He was born in the Pakistani city of Sahiwal on June 28, 1970.
He was a right-handed batsman and a wrist spinner who bowled right-arm leg breaks.
Background
In January 1987, Mushtaq made his first-class debut for Multan. In the second innings of the match against Sukkur, he took four wickets.
He was named to Pakistan’s Under-19 World Cup squad in 1988, where he was the joint leading wicket-taker with 19 wickets at an average of 16.21.
Debut
His impressive first-class and Under-19 cricket results helped him win a place in the Pakistan national team.
He made his international debut against Sri Lanka in an ODI match on March 23, 1989, taking two wickets for 33 runs. He was a regular in the Pakistan team and was subsequently named to the World Cup squad in 1992.
In 1990, he made his test debut against Australia. Mushtaq picked up just one wicket in the second innings after going wicketless in the first.
Rise to Glory
He was instrumental in Pakistan’s 1992 Cricket World Cup victory, taking 16 wickets and finishing as the tournament’s joint second-highest wicket taker.
He took his first five-wicket haul in the second Test of the 1995 Test series against Australia, and he replicated the feat in the third Test of the series.
Club Career
Between 1993 and 1998, Mushtaq played county cricket for Somerset, taking 289 wickets at an average of 26.32 in 62 first-class matches. In 2002, he played for Surrey but fell short of hopes.
When he was playing for Sussex, he turned in some of his finest games. He joined Sussex in 2003 and led the county in wickets for five seasons in a row. In five seasons, he led Sussex to three championships. He took 478 wickets at an average of 25.34 in 85 matches for Sussex.
Stats and Records
Mushtaq took 185 wickets at an average of about 33 in 52 Test matches, including 10 five-wicket hauls. With an economy rate of 4.26, he took 161 wickets in 142 ODIs.
He was one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1997.
Retirement
Before being dropped, he played his last Test match against South Africa on October 24, 2003. Due to a chronic knee injury, he retired from cricket in 2008.
Coaching Career
The England and Wales Cricket Board named Mushtaq as the spin-bowling coach of the England cricket team shortly after his retirement. In 2012, he was the bowling coach of Surrey County Cricket Club for a short period.
Mushtaq was appointed as the bowling consultant for the Pakistan cricket team in 2014, under new coach Waqar Younis.