Wrong'un! India's once-feared spin arsenal is running dry
India's national cricket team is facing a crisis in its spin bowling department as veteran players retire and younger replacements struggle to perform. Recent poor results in T20 series against Ireland and England have prompted concerns about the depth and quality of the country's spin talent pipeline.
Why it matters
Spin bowling has historically been the backbone of Indian cricket success, and its decline threatens the team's competitiveness in international formats.
New Delhi: Ravichandran Ashwin has retired. Ravindra Jadeja is nearing the end of an illustrious career. Axar Patel has lost his bite, Kuldeep Yadav his magic, Varun Chakravarthy his mystery, and Washington Sundar can only be a containing bowler at best. India's famed spin factory is showing worrying signs of running dry, and the cupboard suddenly looks alarmingly bare. In the search for wicket-taking bowlers, there are few convincing options. Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, despite bowling three no-balls in the second T20I against England and being dropped for the remaining matches, has been picked as Varun Chakravarthy's replacement for the Zimbabwe tour.Eyebrows were raised when the selectors picked 33-year-old Madhya Pradesh off-spinner Saransh Jain and Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari, who had not played a first-class match in six years, in the India A squad for the Sri Lanka tour.TimesofIndia.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in