5 Indian spinners who faded away after promising starts

1. Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan’s story might be one of Indian cricket’s most disappointing tales ever. The diminutive youngster from Tamil Nadu was making waves in the domestic circuit even before he turned 18.

There were talks all around that India might have just found their next big spinner after the retirement of the famous spin quartet from the 1970s. He made a grand entry into the international arena and had a splendid couple of years in the beginning. He played a key role in India’s title-winning campaign of World Championship of Cricket.

However, things began to fall apart as Sivaramakrishnan’s career progressed. He was unable to maintain consistency in his performances and was dropped from the national side a frequently.

Despite making a couple of comebacks, Siva was never the same player as before. He had lost a lot of sheen from his bowling and did not repeat the magic or mystery of before.

The young prodigal boy was lost somewhere in the midst of all the media attention. The skill set was not the same and hence performances deserted him. Arguably, lesser talented players namely Ravi Shastri and Anil Kumble went on to have a more convincing and fruitful career than Sivaramakrishnan.

Siva made some dire attempts to make a comeback by improving his batting skills so that he could be considered as an all-rounder. However, the young man never achieved what he was destined to.