last month Indian selectors picked 35-year-old Harbhajan Singh for the one-off Test against Bangladesh and the off-spinner played his first Test after a gap of two years. On Thursday, they gave 32-year-old Amit Mishra another lifeline by naming him in the 15-member squad for the Test tour of Sri lanka. If he is included in the playing XI, Mishra will be playing his first Test in four years.
It is Catch-22 situation for Indian cricket. It can either be hailed for having two players who have shown enough fitness and form to warrant a recall at this age or be mourned for the paucity of quality young spinners in a land that once produced the likes of Bishan Singh Bedi, Prasanna and Venkat Raghvan.
Including three Tests against Sri lanka, India are expected to play at least 19 Tests in sub-continent conditions where spinners get a lot of assistance from pitches in the next 24 months. It is the most opportune time for the selectors to blood in young spinners, but, worryingly, selectors are forced to go back to the two spinners who have bided their time in Test arena.
“I’m surprised because like Harbhajan, they have gone back to another spinner who has been around for a while. The worrying aspect is that there doesn’t seem to be a new spinner on the horizon, which is more worrying than taking Amit Mishra. This is not a dig at Amit Mishra. He has served his time in domestic cricket, fell out of favour in Tests because he was a little slow in the air and off the pitch, but to not have any spinner is a more worrying aspect than picking Amit Mishra,” Ajit Agarkar told ESPNcricinfo.
Mishra played his last Test on 2011 tour of England, where he took only three wickets in two matches at an average of 106.66. Though chairman of selectors Sandip Patil said that Mishra ‘has always been part of our thinking’, his return to the Test fold hasn’t come on the back of a stellar performance. In the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy season, Mishra played six matches for Haryana and took only 10 wickets at an average of 20.40. Even on the day of selection, Mishra drew blank against Australia A. While Pragyan Ojha took three out of four wickets that fell on Day 2 of the unofficial Test.
It’s not that the cupboard is completely bare. India do have spinners but all of them either have fallen out of favour or not considered for different reasons. Ravindra Jadeja, who was the star performer in home series whitewash of Australia in 2013-14, is not the same bowler after the shoulder surgery.
Karn Sharma, who had a lackluster debut in Australia followed by an equally lukewarm domestic season, is out with finger injury.
left-arm spinner Ojha, who took 10 wickets in the last match he played against West Indies, was discussed in the selection meeting but he is making a comeback after remodelling his action that came under scanner last year. Despite his immediate success, selectors weren’t convinced that he would be able cope the pressure of Test cricket.
Another spinner who has been part of national set-up in recent times, Axar Patel, can’t be trusted for Test cricket. “No, Axar Patel is not an alternative spinner India should be looking for,” Gavaskar told NDTV.
“He just rolls the ball, he does not have the flight and his deliveries are very much predictable. He does not turn the ball unless the pitch is favourable. He is slightly slower than medium pace. Yes, Ashwin, Harbhajan, Amit Mishra and Karn Sharma are the spinners India can look for but certainly not Axar Patel,” he added.
India find themselves in a woeful position as far as spin is concerned and the BCCI’s emphasis on providing greener pitches in domestic cricket is not the only culprit for this crisis. Twenty20 cricket has had a huge impact on the trajectory of spinners. IPl is just eight years old but it has already started showing its impact. It is not just a coincidence that all the spinners who are in contention for a spot in the Test side presently are here because of Twenty20 not first-class cricket.