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Who is the best ever player of spin?

The difference between Sehwag and rest is, he made every single spinner he played (including ATGs) look like amateur club level bowlers. Had Ashwin played for Sri Lanka, he would've retired like Saqlain Mushtaq. He demystified Mendis who was wrecking havoc around the world, just as Rashid Khan is doing now. Rashid Khan is lucky he and Afghanistan didn't arrive to international cricket in 2000s.

Here's a famous quote from Ashwin about Sehwag (Ashwin is statistically the greatest off spinner of this decade)

“Viru said ‘You know what, I don’t think off-spinners are bowlers. They do not trouble me at all. I just find it easy smashing them’. I said ‘Sir you are cutting me’. He said, ‘Yeah, I hit off-spinners against the spin on the off side and for left-arm spinners, I will hit against the spin on the leg side.

“I said, ‘okay, fine’. The next day I tried something in the nets he again started hitting me in different zones. He was actually treating me like a road-rag. Like how I would treat a 10 year-old kid, if I was batting against him,” he recalled.
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Here's Sehwag's average against Murali, Warne and Kaneria (Murali is the 1st, Warne is the 3rd and Kaneria is the 11th most wicket taking bowler in the 2000s)

Against Murali
Avg - 145.66 (9 matches)

Against Warne
Avg - 96.33 (4 matches)

Against Kaneria
Avg - 201.00 (8 matches)
 
Afridi was nice but i guess people are looking for big hundreds and big series/consistent runs against top spinners. Although Afridi many times smashed some great spinners but with cameos and some rare hundreds they mean not much otherwise Kapil Dev and many more will be up there.

Sehwag has smashed spinners to smithereens during massive double, triple hundred scores. No player even remotely comes close to the ease with which Sehwag humiliated spinners like they don't deserve to be treated as humans.
 
dhump said:
Salim Malik was very good player of spin.
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Definitely the best player against spin. Took Shane Warner all around the park on many occasions when Shane was at his best. Never seen anyone play a sounder with so much ease.
 
Out of all I have seen,

Sehwag

He dominated spinners even if spinners were great one.
 
adzzy786 said:
Definitely the best player against spin. Took Shane Warner all around the park on many occasions when Shane was at his best. Never seen anyone play a sounder with so much ease.
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Taking a leg spinner apart is no biggie TBH. Leggies goes for runs but also picks wickets. Warne was thrashed by Navjot Siddhu of all people in 1998 series. The toughest spinners to hit were mystery spinners and chucking off spinners with variations (doosras). Sehwag played Mendis well when everyone from the team struggled, he played Murali well too and absolutely destroyed past the prime Saqlain.
 
No one plays spin like the myth, the legend himself Hafeez Sobers! The amount of spinners careers that this man has ended is out of this world!

Not only that but also the best spinner ever is Hafeez Sobers himself. I am not trolling! :trollface

Hafeez.jpg
 
Sehwag/Azharuddin are two of the best i have seen. Not that Laxman, Ganguly, Sidhu, Tendulkar are bad. Just that they were able to manipulate spinners like nobody's business. Among Pakistan Salim Malik is a good player against spinner. Inzamam was good too.
 
Younis Khan
Sangakara
Shoaib Malik
Saurav Ganguly
Mahila Jayawardane
Saeed Anwar
Sarfaraz Ahmad
Andy Flower
 
I've seen a lot of cricket from early 2000's and I got to say it is Younis Khan. Never seen anyone dominate and neutralize as much as he did. His 4th innings average testifies how much control he had against the turning ball. We miss him dearly!!
 
Lara, Sachin, Andy Flower .... 3 best players of spin I have seen since the early 90's.
 
For any discussion around spin, can posters also bring in 4th innings averages to actually compare how batsmen fared against spinners in toughest of conditions?

For example, it might be easy to score a blazing 293 on the flattest of tracks against Murali but you know.. the entire team can be all out for fewer than 120-150 runs against Shaun Udal of all bowlers in the 4th innings....
 
Sehwag easily. Others were good/great players of spin. Sehwag didn't view spinners as bowlers. He obliterated every single notable spinner he has faced from all nations (Including India, ie Ashwin).
 
Sehwag, there was/is no one better than him against spinner on any wicket.Sehwag in full flow against spinners was a treat.

Murali, Warne, Vittori you name them Sehwag has demolished them.Sehwag has demolished spinners and almost ended many careers.

Herath who has spun his web around current generation of batsmen was treated like rag doll.His 201 not out is one of the finest innings ever by any batsman.
 
Many great players already mentioned.I always loved Micheal Clarke footwork against spin.One of the best outside SC
 
I actually picked Mushi today for my fantasy MoM, because of 30 overs of AFG spin, but Shakib plan may pani daal dia :(
 
Allistair cook comes to mind
And then there’s also sangakara and presently the likes of sarfraz
 
jadaja said:
Sehwag, there was/is no one better than him against spinner on any wicket.Sehwag in full flow against spinners was a treat.

Murali, Warne, Vittori you name them Sehwag has demolished them.Sehwag has demolished spinners and almost ended many careers.

Herath who has spun his web around current generation of batsmen was treated like rag doll.His 201 not out is one of the finest innings ever by any batsman.
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I think it was ajantha mendis
 
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