Sportskeeda's Top 50 Indian Test cricketers of all-time (20-11)

#18 Erapalli Prasanna

Erapalli Prasanna's impeccable loop and profound intellect made him a dangerous off-spinner

When exalted Australian captain Ian Chappell juxtaposed Erapalli Prasanna with Andy Roberts as the best bowlers he faced during his time, it did not come across as any surprise. The wily off-spinner was the ultimate master of flight, loop and deception. India's close-in fielders swore that they could hear the ball fizz through the air after it had been released from his hands. Within the Indian team's fabled spin quartet, he found the middle-ground between Bishan Singh Bedi's alluring charm and Bhagwath Chandrasekhar's ferociously unplayable deliveries.

Unlike the vast majority of spinners in the current era, Prasanna did not require spin-friendly surfaces to wreak havoc. The Bangalore-born cricketer's versatility can be discerned from his displays in places ranging from Birmingham to Auckland.

Despite losing five years of his peak due to academic reasons, he walked back into the national side in 1967 and proceeded to seal a spot in the playing eleven. By the time he pulled the curtains down on his career, Prasanna had carved a niche for himself in the annals of Indian cricket.

Career Span: 1962-1978

Statistics: 189 wickets from 49 matches at an average of 30.38 and strike-rate of 75.9 with 10 five-wicket hauls and 2 ten-wicket hauls