MUMBAI: India’s supremacy in Test cricket has been based on the fact that at home they were untouchable. It was largely due to the brilliance of their spinners.
The country never had a dearth of spin bowling options. When you have the likes of Bishan Singh Bedi, EAS Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja at your disposal, the captain’s job was always easy.
The beauty of the recent history was the seamless succession: the duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, in the 1990s and 2000s, was succeeded by the equally lethal combination of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
When playing in home conditions, the captain had to give the ball to these pairs and enjoy watching them weave their spin magic around batting line-ups.
The current India team management, however, has got genuine reasons for concern about the effectiveness of its spin department, even at home.
In two big series at home, 2024 against New Zealand and 2025 versus South Africa, the hosts had the embarrassment of seeing their spinners being outperformed by their opposite numbers and as India embarks on a tour of Sri Lanka where pitches will be similarly spin-friendly, their spin strength will be under scrutiny.
Ashwin retired in 2024, but it’s not clear who India is looking at as the next spearhead. The 37-year-old Jadeja is also at the fag end of his career and the lack of a succession plan is galling. We are talking about replacements for an off-spinner who finished with 537 wickets in 106 Tests and a left-arm spinner with 348 wickets in 89 Tests.
Experts also point to an inconsistent selection policy as a factor in the challenge they face.
“In the succession plan, I feel that you have to give confidence to bowlers like Kuldeep. They are not playing him anywhere, and when you are not getting a chance naturally a player loses confidence. He is somebody who could be a match-winner,” said former India left-arm spinner Maninder Singh.
Since making his Test debut in 2017, the wrist spinner has played just 18 Tests despite proving his wicket-taking ability with 79 wickets. In the five-Test series against England, he remained on the bench throughout.
“The problem is that when we play Test matches, or any matches, we look for players who can bowl a bit and bat a bit. You will not need that if you play a match-winner, that situation won’t arise where you need a bowler who can also bat a bit while their bowling is mediocre,” Maninder said.
“Mistake is a very light word (for not playing him), it was a blunder. What was the result in England, 2-2? If Kuldeep was playing from the first Test, it could have been 3-1 in India’s favour.”
For the succession plan to work, the think-tank will have to identify a pool of three-four good spinners who will need to be backed.
The series in Sri Lanka will also be an opportunity to experiment a bit. In that, India’s spin unit has veteran Jadeja, Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain apart from Kuldeep.
Suthar’s brilliant showing in his debut match (seven wickets vs Afghanistan) has impressed the experts. However, the off-spin options to take over from Ashwin aren’t great.
“What I have seen of Manav Suthar, I was very impressed with the way he bowled (against Afghanistan),” said Maninder. “He is not somebody who will need a turning track, from what we have seen till now. he will get you wickets on the good pitches also.”
Maninder added: “In the succession plan, the off-spinner we have got is Saransh Jain, who is already 33 years old. At the moment, he looks the best bet, (but) with time we will have to look for a younger kid, right?”
For former India off-spinner Arshad Ayub, all the above mentioned spinners should be the core group. “These are the four we should always carry with us, even if one or two of them are not playing,” said Ayub.
As for Sundar, who is recovering from an injury, Ayub feels has to work on his thought process of bowling in Tests. “I think he has to improve a bit because he always bowls a good line and a good length. But the point is that he does not have that revolutions which are supposed to be there for Test match cricket.”
This isn’t about Sundar alone, though. “I think just the thought process has to change. In today’s time, everybody wants to be a T20 or a one-day player, but hardly anybody puts in the effort to be a Test player,” said Ayub.
Like Maninder, Ayub is also backing Suthar to fulfill his potential but it shouldn’t end there for Team India. Test cricket mastery won’t happen in a day and having a clear plan will ensure that the team continues to find success.
