Saqlain Mushtaq wants full-time England position as spin coach

Saqlain Mushtaq says he wants to continue as England's spin coach on a full-time basis.

The former Pakistan off-breaker has been coaching Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali in a consultancy role during the current Test series in India and, having been praised for his work with Rashid in particular, has been kept on until at least the end of the third Test.

Rashid has taken 13 wickets in two Tests, more than anyone else in the series including India's Ravi Ashwin - the No 1 spin bowler in the world. 

Mushtaq insists England have got to have a full-time spin coach, not just to help the bowlers but to also assist the batsman.

He said: "I would love to (continue). I'm enjoying it; every session and every conversation during the breaks. I'm loving the support staff and everyone. It is like a family. 

"It is a relaxed atmosphere but a professional one. I'd love to keep going and be involved in the future. We should have a full-time spin coach, not just for the main team but on the county circuit as well.

"If you look at the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket and the highest wicket-taker in one-day cricket, they are spinners.

"It is not just in the sub-continent but when you go abroad, on the fourth and fifth day of the Test, the spinners are the main bowlers. The whole team relies on them. Spin is a main thing. You have to have a full-time coach for it.

"And it is not just to look after the spinners but it is to help the batsmen as well, as to how the spinners think about them. It is very important to have a full time spin coach." 

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) director Andrew Strauss has been unconvinced about the need for a permanent spin coach but Mushtaq's enthusiasm for Rashid, who only made his Test debut last year, is unmoved.

"He's a very skilful guy and he's got a lot of variations," he added. "He has a lot of tools in his armoury but he needs to work on those things.

"He has got everything, all the things a top-class leg-spinner requires; a 'wrong 'un', a top-spinner, a 'leggie', front of the hand, 'flipper'.

"He needs to work hard, and I think he can achieve the highest level as a leg-spinner, and I think Moeen is a proper off-spinner; the way he bowls, the energy, the shape of the ball, the control - everything."