Once upon a time, India prided itself on the quality of spinners they produced. Right through the 60’s and 70’s, if the team played in SENA countries, or the West Indies, their attack would mostly consist of three or four spinners. Out of those spinners too, wrist-spin was an art mastered by very few, which, unfortunately these days is suffering a massive decline.
Wrist-spinners the Wicket-taking Weapons
Ever since Anil Kumble went away from the scene, Team India hasn’t found a regular leg-spinner who could serve them for long. That, despite their rare wicket-taking abilities in any part of the world. Let us for example only consider the SENA nations — and Kumble, out of his 619 wickets, took 141 wickets there.
BS Chandrasekhar had 71 wickets in SENA — out of a total of 242. So, the theory that leg-spinners aren’t effective in those conditions, might not be fully true. If we look elsewhere, Shane Warne had 558 wickets in SENA. If we leave him out too, then Richie Benaud had 159 wickets, Stuart MacGill had 135.
Kuldeep Yadav is having a look at the pitch. India will miss him in the remainder of the Test. Hope sense prevails and he plays the next four… pic.twitter.com/RtIRCObZZr
— Sahil Malhotra (@Sahil_Malhotra1) June 21, 2025No Regular Bowler Since Anil Kumble
But India in the last 10-15 years has lost the faith on wrist-spinners, or at least that looks to be the case from the outside. You have an uber-talented player in Kuldeep Yadav, who in his eight-year long career has played only 13 matches, let alone two in SENA. In the previous teams, there was a certain Amit Mishra, who played 22 matches only in 13-year career. In SENA — he played two.
Kuldeep Yadav Must Get His Due
In the ongoing India-England series, in the first Test itself, it has become clear that the visitors need more attacking options along with Jasprit Bumrah, to get wickets regularly — which the other pacers and Jadeja might find tough to do. And hence, that is where the need for a leg-spinner/chinaman arises. And with Kuldeep Yadav in the squad.. he can fix that gap brilliantly.
But that will only happen, once the team management starts to show some faith in this craft and the bowlers. The pattern for a very long time has suggested India’s reluctance to play them — mostly because they tend to be more expensive than orthodox spinners — but then that thinking, if changed, could hold the team in good stead. Moreover, not many around the world are used to play wrist-spinners with the red ball, so that also can be a consideration for the future.
Team India wasting Kuldeep Yadav on the bench, reluctance to play wrist-spinners in Tests needs to go away Inside Sport India.
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