Top 5 ODI off-spinners of all time

#2 Saqlain Mushtaq

Saqlain Mushtaq

If there is one bowler who can be called 'the Godfather of modern off-spin bowling' then that would be former Pakistani star Saqlain Mushtaq. He turned a boring form of off-spin bowling that had lost all its glamour due to the emergence of Shane Warne and Anil Kumble, into an intriguing and exciting vocation.

Mushtaq gave off-spinners the doosra (the off-spinner's delivery that turns away from the right-handed batsman) and the straighter one, bowled from wide of the crease. The latter came in and then did not turn but straightened after pitching, often catching the batsmen plumb in front.

He had a regulation bowling action but when it came to variations, turn, bounce and accuracy, there was no one who came close. His career did not last as long as many would have expected but for those seven to eight years between 1995 to 2003, he was the world's best.

In only 169 games, he picked up 288 wickets at an average of 21.78 and an economy rate of 4.25. He was off-spin bowling's greatest ever innovator.