Devandra Bishoo’s loss of form has been cited as one of the main reasons former Pakistan spinner, Saqlain Mushtaq, was invited to conduct a coaching clinic.
This disclosure came from coach of the West Indies team, Ottis Gibson, one of the people responsible for bringing the off-spinner to the Sagicor High Performance Centre.
Bishoo, a leg-spinner from Guyana, made his debut for the West Indies in 2011 and has played 11 Tests and 13 ODIs for the regional side.
And when the then 25-year-old rose to fame by capturing the ICC’s Emerging Player of the Year Award in 2011, much was expected of the diminutive spinner.
However, since then, a run of unimpressive bowling spells did not sit well with the West Indies selectors, with his last Test match being at Kensington Oval in 2012 against Australia when he finished with match figures of one for 169 from 53 overs.
Gibson said Bishoo, who has taken 40 wickets in 11 Tests at an average of 39.55 and has 175 wickets altogether in 45 first-class matches at 29.77, still has much to offer to West Indies cricket.
“Bishoo is the one person I had in mind when I thought about this clinic because I thought that – I don’t want to say that I let him down – but I’m very sad at how things have gone for him,” he told the media yesterday at the 3Ws Oval, Cave Hill Campus.
“From the time he came into the West Indies team, to being the ICC’s Emerging Player of the Year, to where he is now, I just thought that we needed someone out here to give him the support and the belief.
“I know that he’s been doing very well because he has been texting me and letting me know that he has been enjoying what has been happening. Hopefully, this is the spark that gets Bishoo back into the frame of mind that he was in when he got into West Indies cricket and did very well,” he added.
Saqlain said he was impressed by the attitudes shown by the players.
Saying it was a privilege and an honour to be asked to lend his assistance, he noted that the players had responded well to his coaching advice.
“Shane [Shillingford] has given me so much respect each and every session. He is working hard, coming on time, eager to learn, asking a lot of questions and giving 100 per cent.
“It’s not only Shane, though, all of the players have shown tremendous commitment and they are all hard workers, which is necessary if you want to be the best,” Saqlain said.
