Why Pakistan must play Zahid Mahmood for the decider against Australia

The story of Zahid Mahmood playing for Pakistan is quite curious.

Before the 2019/20 first-class season, Pakistan had mostly prepared seaming-friendly wickets which effectively nullified the role of spinners in the country. It was often noted by former captain Misbah-ul Haq that this was perhaps the most crucial factor behind Pakistan producing a lack of quality spinners after Saeed Ajmal.

When he took over as head coach, one of his first goals was to improve the quality of pitches as well as ensure that unorthodox spinners are given a chance in first-class cricket. The severity of the drawback over the years was exposed in his first coaching assignment against Sri Lanka at home when Sarfaraz Ahmed and co lost 3-0 to a Sri Lankan B team.

Zahid has been a revelation since the change of wickets in Pakistan.

Most of the spinners that are currently in contention for Pakistan's squads across formats have essentially emerged over the last three years. Zahid was no exception.

Zahid's had to wait for his moment

Despite making his debut in 2009, it took him a decade to get a proper place in the squad. He made his debut in the new format-based Quaid e-Azam season for Southern Punjab. With better wickets to bowl at and the switch in the ball from Duke to Kookabura allowed the domestic spinners to have a bigger say in the game.

Zahid's 2019-20 season saw him pick his first-ever career 10-fer as well as reaching 100th first-class wickets. He was shortlisted as one of the Domestic Cricketers of the Year for the 2020 PCB Awards a season later.

Following Pakistan's disappointing performance in New Zealand, Zahid got his maiden call-up for the national team against South Africa. In his only T20 international game so far, he picked up 24/3 against a quality South African batting line-up.

Since then, however, he has not had another international opportunity, with Usman Qadir being the preferred choice for the shorter formats. In Tests, Yasir Shah was replaced by Nauman Ali and Saajid Khan.

However, with Australia fancying their chances against both these spinners and also considering Saajid Khan's high economy-rate, Pakistan should be bold enough to trust their veteran spinner who deserves another opportunity.

Despite being a leggie, he offers more control and a sharp googly which has proved to be very effective on Pakistani wickets. More importantly, Pakistan's chairman has also invited a foreign curator to assist them in making a spin-friendly wicket for the series decider, which should motivate the camp to make this inspired move.