5 best off-spinners in cricket today

3. Moeen Ali

Ali bowled exceptionally against South Africa during England's home summer this year

Undoubtedly the most under-rated spinner in international cricket presently, Moeen Ali has had his share of ups and downs in a topsy-turvy career where he switched roles from being a middle-order batsman to becoming a maturing spin-bowling all-rounder.

A devastating haul of 19 wickets against spin experts India at home in 2014 was initially under-rated only for Moeen to have found his share of respect later.

Each time critics aimed a dig at him, he answered by collecting wickets at the right time. A fortunate interaction with former off-spinner-turned-umpire Kumar Dharmasena taught him to maintain pace without losing out on flight, and on the advice of his teammate Ian Bell for the need to bowl quicker aided Moeen’s cause. Under the guidance of England’s one-time spin bowling consultant, legendary Pakistani bowler Saqlain Mushtaq, his skills grew with time, which reaped dividends for Ali.

Ali operated perfectly in Bangladesh in 2016 and then targeted the touring South Africans during the home summer in 2017, as a maiden ten-for at Lord’s, which comprised a career-best 6/53, earned him accolades aplenty.

If that was not enough, he became the first England spinner since 1938 to have bagged a Test hat-trick, which he achieved against the same opponents at The Oval just two games later. He now has 118 wickets at a rapidly improving average of 37.80, and it is high time that he was taken seriously by batsmen.