India paying the price for ignoring spin
India needs to go back to the future – encourage spinners, pick them early and give them a long run
Cricket is a game of glorious ironies. For years we prayed for a fast bowler, or at least a fast-medium bowler. And then came Kapil Dev. That led to a host of new ball bowlers, at least two of whom, Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan were world class. India often went into Test matches with three medium pacers and a spinner, even at home.
And now the prayer has changed. We pray for spinners. Indian batsmen's struggle against spin in Galle cost them a Test match, just as it had cost them a series at home and in England recently and at least one Test in Australia.
Where are those capable of standing alongside the Great Four of the 70s, and Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh of a later vintage? Of India’s 15 most successful bowlers, 11 are spinners.
The problem of not having bowlers of pace was that our batsmen lacked expertise against fast bowling. Under Tiger Pataudi, left-arm spinner Bishan Bedi would be preparing to bowl as early as the third over of the innings. The ball was studiously rolled along the ground, and players were encouraged to rub it on the turf to remove the shine.
Intelligence and cunning
Fast bowling was for meat-eating giants from abroad who didn’t know better, we consoled ourselves; our strengths were intelligence and cunning, the ball that never arrived and the one that wasn’t there when the batsman jumped out to meet it.
India had so many world class spinners in the domestic game then that half a dozen of them might have had fabulous international careers had they turned out for other teams. We took it all for granted. The cliché grew easily: India, the land of snake charmers and spin bowling.
And then, we switched tracks. Rather than build on our strength, we chose to imitate others’ forte. We decided to put our faith in pace. Thus, over a period we developed bowlers capable of touching 140km per hour, some capable of swinging the ball, others who bowled military medium; consistency was a worry as were regular injuries.
Still, it worked till a few years ago because the great Anil Kumble and the then unspoilt (bowling-wise) Harbhajan were still around.
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