Five bowlers from the past who could have troubled Virat Kohli

#2 Saqlain Mushtaq

Saqlain Mushtaq could bowl the classical off-spin, the doosra and the top-spinner without a change in grip

While Kohli has dodged the mystery spinners of the current era (he has only got out thrice in a combined 18 ODIs against Saeed Ajmal and Sunil Narine), Saqlain Mushtaq, in his pomp, was made from finer cloth. His control of the ball was so competent that he used to be employed in the death overs in the initial part of his career.

The flagbearer of the ‘doosra’, Mushtaq used to beat the batsmen in flight, first enticing them into a false stroke, and then bamboozling them with turn and variable bounce. Without a perceptible change in his grip, he would bowl the classical off-spin, the doosra and the top-spin.

Kohli never lets a spinner get the better of him, hardly getting tied down even when faced with a challenging spell. He uses his feet well to counter the turn, attacking in phases and getting the scoreboard moving to keep the pressure off him.

However, Mushtaq, and his quiver full of variations, would have made it difficult for Kohli to settle down, forcing him to adapt on the go to Mushtaq’s often undecipherable offerings.