Treat Yasir like Kumble, not Warne: Nasser Hussain advises English batsmen

Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes that English batsmen should treat Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah as Indian great Anil Kumble, rather than Aussie legend Shane Warne, while playing him in the first innings of a Test match.

The hosts were in a commanding position at stumps on day one of the third Test, with score on 332/4, but they were troubled by Yasir in the earlier stages of the innings.

“England have a winter of Test cricket in sub-continental conditions coming up against Sri Lanka and India, if those tours go ahead, so they must learn from how they are playing Yasir Shah here,” Hussain wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.

“For some reason, whether it is Joe Root or Ollie Pope, England have been going back to the leg-spinner and getting stuck on the crease. They are playing him as if he were Shane Warne but, in the first innings of a Test, they should play him more like Anil Kumble,” he added.

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He further stated that Yasir is more focused on varying his pace rather than relying on spin, to dismiss the batsmen, on the first day.

“Yasir will not bowl massive, turning deliveries on the first day. Instead, he has been setting batsmen up by going slow, slow and then producing a quicker, straighter delivery,” he said.