South African batting great Faf du Plessis has named former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal as the toughest bowler he faced during his career.
Du Plessis named Ajmal during a conversation with former South Africa allrounder Vernon Philander. Philander asked him, “Who is the hardest bowler you have ever faced you come up against.”
Du Plessis replied, “Saeed Ajmal.”
When Philander pushed him further and asked why, du Plessis explained, “Because i could not pick him.”
Ajmal built a reputation as one of the most difficult spinners of his generation, largely because of his doosra, a delivery that turned the opposite way to his stock offbreak while looking almost identical out of his hand.
Batters across the world struggled to read him during his peak years, and du Plessis was no exception. The South African has spoken about this battle before, once revealing that he would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night picturing Ajmal running in to bowl at him.
Ajmal enjoyed plenty of success against South Africa specifically. During Pakistan’s 2013-14 series in the UAE, he finished as the leading wicket-taker in both the Tests and the ODIs, picking up 12 wickets in the two-match Test series and 11 in the ODI leg.
Saeed Ajmal played international cricket for Pakistan between 2008 and 2015. He appeared in 35 Tests, taking 178 wickets at an average of 28.10. In ODIs, he played 184 matches and picked up 184 wickets at an average of 22.72. In T20Is, he featured in 64 games, claiming 85 wickets at an average of 17.83.
Across all three formats, Ajmal finished his international career with 447 wickets for Pakistan.
At his peak, Ajmal held the number one ranking among ODI bowlers in the ICC standings and also topped the T20I bowling rankings. His best Test figures came against England in Dubai in 2012, when he took 7 for 55 in an innings and 10 wickets in the match.
He also became the fastest Pakistani bowler to reach 100 Test wickets, achieving the landmark in just 19 matches.
Ajmal’s career ended prematurely after the ICC suspended him in September 2014 for having an illegal bowling action. He worked to remedy the issue but eventually withdrew from Pakistan’s 2015 World Cup squad after failing to fix it in time.
He announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in November 2017 and later went on to serve as a bowling coach for Pakistan.
