Spinners are playing a huge role in T20: Mushtaq Ahmed

Former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed says the spinners are playing a "huge role" in Twenty20 cricket, using their variations to confuse batsmen.

"I think spin bowling is important. Lots of teams are winning games because of the spinners. So I believe, because spinners have more variations like they have a carrom ball, a doosra, a googly, they have a flipper and a top spinner, they are playing a huge role in T20," he said.

Mushtaq is a spin bowling consultant with Delhi Daredevils. "Lots of people used to think less of spinners, but now they have changed their opinion, that less pace you have the more difficult it is for the batsmen to hit sixes. Spinners can pick up wickets in the middle, which is a crucial time in T20," Mushtaq told iplt20.com.

Talking about some of the spinners who have done well in the ongoing edition, Mushtaq said, "There are plenty of them who have been impressive, (Shahbaz) Nadeem is bowling very well, Jeevan (Mendis) is there, Johan Botha is there, (Roelof) van der Merwe is there, (Pawan) Negi is there.

"Plus opposition spinners like (Amit) Mishra, Harbhajan (Singh) and (Pragyan) Ojha - all those spinners are playing a huge role," he said.

Photograph: BCCI