The Great Game Called Cricket...

India’s famous spin quartet is concerned. Having mesmerized batsmen the world over with their spin and stealth in their prime, the quartet of Bishen Singh Bedi, S Venkataraghavan, EAS Prasanna and BS Chandrasekhar sounded a tad diffident ahead of the India-South Africa Test series.

The cause of worry — India’s spin department. In the last series, the trio of Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha didn’t quite set Bangladesh on fire. The skill, rhythm and lack of enough numbers under the wicket column haven’t quite impressed the spin legends. Figures may not reveal the entire story but they certainly suggest a thing or two — Indian spinners had accounted for only 14 wickets in the two Tests in Bangladesh.

Always known to speak his mind, former India captain Bedi felt the current spin attack is struggling to pose any threat to the opposition. “Indian spin attack is inexperienced and not very skillful. Look what they did in Bangladesh, they should have dominated and taken more wickets,” said Bedi.

Former India off-spinner S Venkataraghavan still has faith in Harbhajan. “He may be struggling at the moment but remember form is temporary and class is permanent. He is a proven class and I’m sure he’ll use his experience against the South Africans and come good.”

"Any good cricketer is one who is a good student of the game. Look at Sachin, Dravid, Kumble and Laxman, they are such wonderful students of the game. To be a good student one has to have humility, where is the humility?" — Former India captain BS Bedi on Harbhajan Singh


One area where all the four spin legends agree is the way to take on the touring Proteas. “I feel the spinners should quickly adjust to the conditions and attack a lot more than they have in the recent past,” said Venkataraghavan. Chandrasekhar, who was known to keep his bowling simple and yet lethal, hit the nail on the head. “I think the only way to put pressure on the South African batsmen is by consistently bowling a good line and length. It will force them to make mistake and throw their wickets.”

The fact that the tourists have three left-hand batsmen in captain Graeme Smith, Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy will surely encourage Harbhajan as his stock off-spin will go away from them. Being an attacking and wicket-taking bowler, Harbhajan has often dominated the opposition with his spin and bounce. However, he appeared to be struggling with his rhythm in the last two series against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

“Harbhajan did well under the shadow of senior bowler Anil Kumble. Now that he is the senior spinner, he needs to bowl well under his own shadow. He needs to spur himself to perform well,” feels Bedi.

In India’s last three Test series against New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Harbhajan has taken 31 wickets in 7 Tests with just one five-for. It certainly isn’t a disappointing performance but surely he’s capable of more. With quality opposition like South Africa, the 29-year-old offie will have to dig deep and rediscover his wicket-taking streak.

Prasanna, who tormented batsmen with his flight and spin, feels the South Africans have a formidable batting line-up and the middle over management will be important. “The middle overs will be crucial and that’s where spinners come into play. Against the Proteas, I feel Harbhajan should attack a lot more and try to take as many wickets.”

On Harbhajan’s recent loss of form, Bedi said, “Any good cricketer is one who is a good student of the game. Look at Sachin, Dravid, Kumble and Laxman, they are such wonderful students of the game. To be a good student one has to have humility, where is the humility?” In his typical no-holds bar, what Bedi meant was whenever there is loss of form, Harbhajan should seek help from former offs-spinners like Prasanna and Venkataraghavan; something which India’s leading spinner has been guilty of not doing.

Another area of worry is the second spinner as both leg-spinner Amit Mishra and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha are inexperienced and have only 10 Tests between them. At the moment, both have failed to come up with performances that could give enough confidence to the management.

"He is bowling well and he took seven wickets in his last Test. With more opportunity he will surely become a better bowler." — Former leg spinner Narendra Hirwani on Amit Mishra


As a second spinner, Chandrasekhar feels India should play a leggie. Being a wicket-taking bowler, Amit Mishra does make a case for himself but of late he has been struggling with his consistency. Former India leg spinner and now a selector, Narendra Hirwani feels there is no reason to panic. “He is bowling well and he took seven wickets in his last Test. With more opportunity he will surely become a better bowler.” It remains to be seen if captain MS Dhoni feels the same way.

On the other hand, Venkataraghavan felt that a second spinner is purely a captain’s call. “Depending on the pitch conditions, captain should decide whether to play Mishra or Ojha.”

Being a two-game Test series, India will have to wrest the initiative at the earliest and play to their strength. So, should India play on a turning track? “If India want to win the series, playing on a spinning track is the only option,” said Prasanna. Readily agreeing with his colleague, Venkataraghavan said, “If you go to Durban or Wanderers, South Africans won’t give you a spinning track; so you should know what your strength is and play accordingly.”

Putting aside all the niggling worries, Chandrasekhar, the inveterate match-winner chose to serve his instinct. “I think both the teams are equally matched but India have the slight advantage. My gut feeling is India will win the series.”