Saqlain, who is on a 5000 pound a month contract with Surrey having joined the county in June, has bowled superbly to take them into the final of the Benson & Hedges which his county won last month and in first class matches his economy with the ball and his strike rate have been phenomenal. His 28 wickets in county championship has cost him only 16.75 runs apiece and he is already second in the bowling averages. That is apart from his tally of wickets in Sunday league one-day matches. Like Waqar Younis, who is also one of the top wicket-takers of the summer, he has been troubling the batsmen with success. Waqar, who has taken 54 wickets so far at 20.85 apiece, is on a much more lucrative term with his county, Glamorgan, than is young Saqlain. Waqar is on a 100,000 pound contract for the summer and he has fully justified his feats for the county by taking it to the top of the championship table. Saqlain's county is eighth on the table because of men like Alec Stewart, Graeeme Thorpe, Mark Butcher and lately the Hollioke brothers on Test duty for England.
The off-spinner also had to join the Pakistan team for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka for a brief period.
Of those from Pakistan like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmed and Mohammad Akram, only Saqlain and Akram have made themselves available for the Sahara Cup in Canada to be played from Sept 13 at Toronto. Wasim is recovering from his shoulder operation and is likely to be fit in October. Mushtaq has knee problem and has missed a number of county games because of that. Mohammad Akram has not been a success at the county level because of injuries and Mohammad Zahid is also recuperating from the stress fracture in his back which deprived him of the opportunity to play for Nottinghamshire.
Saqlain is booked to fly to Pakistan on Sept 7 and join the Pakistan team for Toronto. ``I have told the county about it and they are talking to the Pakistan Cricket Board. I do not see any problem''. ``In the next two days I think I will know if I am going to get another contract for the next summer by Surrey,'' says Saqlain.
Pakistan will obviously be glad to have him back in the absence of men like Wasim, Waqar and Mushtaq. Shoaib Akhtar, who toured England with the Pakistan 'A' side, is one who can fit in well as a fast bowler and as a surprise element for the Indians. However, as the situation stands he has been penalised and dropped from the national outfit.