Allrounders provide the spin and skill in the tale

Hindustan Times

8 hours ago

MUMBAI: For young players who want to take up cricket with the sole focus on becoming a good spinner, the England Test series was a cautionary tale. The spinner who is considered a match-winner and was in good form, Kuldeep Yadav, had to warm the bench for all five Tests. India's left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav didn't get to play a Test on the recent England tour despite being a match-winner as India opted to bolster the batting by including allrounders. (PTI)
It sent a clear message to domestic coaches as well as the aspiring spinners that in modern cricket just being a good bowler is not enough.
It's not just Test cricket. Even in other formats, you will be in and out of the team. At the 2024 T20 World Cup, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja were the first choice. Kuldeep played as per the opposition and venue.
In the 50 overs ICC Champions Trophy held in March, Jadeja and Axar were first choice, Kuldeep played when India fielded three spinners, and Varun Chakravarthy came in when India decided to go with four tweakers because of the spin-friendly surfaces in Dubai.
In a couple of series, Varun Chakravarthy has been in the eleven, bamboozling batters with his unorthodox bowling. But he has played just four ODIs and only 18 T20Is so far. T20 is not a game for specialists, unless you are a power-hitter or a mystery spinner. Rest are all required to be multi-dimensional.
For orthodox spinners, it's a challenge to stay relevant. Like Kuldeep in Tests, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is a glaring example in T20Is. He is the all-time leading wicket-taker in IPL (221 scalps, 174 games), but is not picked in the national team anymore. His last India game (he has played 80 T20Is, 72 ODIs) was in August 2023.
It begs the question: what is the future for specialist spinners?
The pressure they face to stay relevant is enormous. For a captain to say his spinner is indispensable, they need to make a mark as a strike bowler of Jasprit Bumrah's level. Even someone like R Ashwin was losing out to Ravindra Jadeja for a spot in the XI overseas.
The trend is that mostly the spinners coming through are also good batters, along with Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel.
Going by their first series together in England, skipper Shubman Gill and coach Gautam Gambhir's thinking is to cover more bases even if it means compromising a bit on the penetration in bowling.
'A LINE OF THINKING'
Former India spinner Maninder Singh says had India played Kuldeep, they would have won 3-1 in England. 'It is not that the specialist spinner's role is over. Probably in this case, it was a young team without Rohit and Virat, so there was a thought to have extra cushion in batting if the top-order didn't click. But the problem was that even when the top-order clicked, they didn't change (bring in Kuldeep). It was more a case of a line of thinking.
'Kuldeep was an automatic choice because, first of all bowlers of his breed are not there. Secondly, the English batters wouldn't have read him. We missed a point there. I think Gambhir will introspect and understand the point, which will be rectified in the upcoming matches,' says the former left-arm spinner.
For former India player Chandrakant Pandit, a decorated domestic coach, it is about the spinner's ability. 'Nobody will compromise on the quality of bowling – all-rounders who bowl well are picked or a specialist bowler will only be picked. This is the thought process,' says the Madhya Pradesh coach.
'It is not that Kuldeep can't bat, it is important for him to realise that to fit in the XI there are spinners who are doing well and contributing in batting as well and to match them, 'I'll have to develop my batting'.'
Basically, the team management is analysing the trade-off – how much difference will it make if an allrounder comes in for a specialist spinner? The India think-tank feels it isn't much.
Washington Sundar's spin bowling in the England Tests was as good as a specialist's. He was outstanding at Lord's, running through England's line-up in the second innings with 4/22. He also provided breakthroughs in the other matches. It adds to the pressure on a specialist like Kuldeep.
NO 'HOME ADVANTAGE'
It is not just playing in tough, pace-friendly batting conditions, this trend to go with all-rounders is expected to continue at home too because in the World Test Championship race every team wants to get maximum points by preparing pitches to suit their bowling strength. Turning tracks has been the trend in India, some pitches have turned from Day 1, which will demand all-rounders to lend batting depth.
Maninder and Pandit, however, see a clear change in the trend where the next generation of spinners know the importance of working on their batting skills. 'The trend has already changed. T20 cricket is there, in this every bowler wants to contribute with the bat as well. There is no doubt about that, which is good for the game.'