Abdul Qadir at his Lahore academy

Islamabad: Abdul Qadir’s last appearance for Pakistan was over a decade ago, but his band of admirers hasn’t dwindled.

Dozens turn up at his academy in Lahore when word gets around that the leg-spin master himself has arrived. And, at the Pearl Continental the other night, fans waiting for the present-day stars mobbed Qadir when he came to meet one-time teammate Younis Ahmed.

Currently, of course, Qadir has got dragged into a controversy over a TV programme — he insists, though, he simply spoke of “ball banana (working on one side)” and not “ball tampering” — but some people, it seems, have an agenda of their own.

[On Sunday evening, Qadir announced that he would take the producer to court for arbitrary behaviour and breach of contract. The possibility of moving against PTV isn’t ruled out either.]

Despite being upset, Qadir didn’t allow that to come in the way of a chat — specifically about Anil Kumble and Danish Kaneria, both members of his tribe — with The Telegraph (in Lahore) on Saturday morning.

“Kumble has reached a stage where his reputation alone gets wickets... Confidence is his USP and, at the highest level, it works wonders,” he remarked, adding: “Moreover, he now has greater variation and an even better control over line and length… Only, don’t expect him to spin much.”

Qadir continued: “Kumble ko ab out karna aa gaya hai... There are dozens of bowlers at the Test level, but few actually know how to get wickets. Kumble, in my view, is one of them... After all, how do you explain his getting wickets with nothing more than a mild googly?”

With ten in the first two Tests, Kumble has reached 392 wickets in 83 appearances. Qadir, however, felt India’s most successful spinner is “largely going to be a second innings performer.”

Young Kaneria, incidentally, is a Qadir protege. In fact, big-time opportunities started coming his way after Qadir formally advocated his case before the Pakistan Cricket Board brass.

“The boy has everything, except a big heart... Hit him for a couple of boundaries and he loses heart... To progress, then, he must toughen himself... Spinner ke pass bada dil hona chahiye... Nahin hone se mushkil ho ga,” Qadir emphasised.

Talking about Shane Warne, who made a phenomenal return (in Sri Lanka) after serving out a one-year ban for drug abuse, Qadir said: “His comeback didn’t surprise me... Indeed, like Kumble, his reputation is such that batsmen are in a disturbed state of mind whenever they face him... He’s terrific at the mental game...”

Significantly, Warne — just two behind Courtney Walsh’s world record of 519 wickets — worked on his flipper after an interaction with Qadir in the mid Nineties.

“Mera ghar khula hai... If somebody wants help, I’m available,” Qadir signed off.

It’s a pity few choose to avail of guidance from one credited with 236 Test wickets. The loss surely isn’t Qadir’s.