The varieties of Indian spinners

We all have a favourite sport and a favourite part of the sport and the same holds true for me. I love everything about cricket but bowling stands out as a skill and an art that has captivated me ever so more since I started understanding the game. And the more you understand, the ‘easier and simpler’ things start looking really complicated and ever more interesting.

In our hostel wings in college, we spent lazy winter mornings playing underarm cricket. It was fun and I learned a few things about spin bowling or rather batting against spin from a friend. It used to be more fun bowling than batting because people generated considerable amount of turn both ways, bowling underarm. Usually nobody used to have a long stay at the crease. But a friend who was part of the cricket team batted specially well. It was a given but what I started noting was how his eyes used to fix at my bowling hand. He never took his eyes away from the ball from the moment it was in my hand to the moment he had hit it. He picked each and every variation accurately and just nudged the ball along its way whether it was an off spin, leg spin or a faster one. He never guessed what ball was going to do, he just paid attention.

This is how I realised how difficult it can be for an international batsman to face not just the off spin and the leg spin but the variations of it, such as a doosra or a carrom ball. In a stadium full of people making incredible noise, all kinds of commotion around the ground and all that the batsman has to focus on, is the bowler’s hand! No wonder they make such a fuss about the sight screen.

So I took a look at the videos of past matches at my disposal and noted of the variations of Indian spinners. Not that I hadn’t ever given a thought about the variations themselves but somehow batting against even a Piyush Chawla seems mighty difficult when you don’t know which way the wretched delivery is going to turn!

1. Piyush Chawla – I start with him because I remember what Dhoni said before the start of World Cup this year. He mentioned about Piyush Chawla having a very good googly. I never gave it much thought until now.

Googly

Leg Spin

The main reason for Chawla’s better googly is the fact that he has a very fast bowling action and that makes it extremely difficult for the batsmen to read the difference between the two. His stock delivery is the leg spin though and he has been disappointing with the inability to have control over it and goes for far too many runs to be able to pose any threat to any Indian team regular.

2. Amit Mishra – A much better preference over Piyush Chawla, Amit Mishra still has to perform consistently although he seems to be the choice for 2nd spinner only for away matches with Pragyan Ojha filling those boots at home.

Googly

Leg spin

Mishra possesses a better leg spinning delivery than Chawla, which remains his most lethal delivery, and since he doesn’t possess the bowling action speed of Chawla, it is comparatively easy to pick the googly in his case.

3. Harbhajan Singh – Someone with Bhajji’s experience is bound to have variations in his armoury.

Off Spin

Doosra/Straighter one

The ‘doosra’ that Bhajji possesses these days is more of a straighter one and holds its line rather than the one that would turn the other way. Both these snapshots are with Harbhajan bowing round the wicket to right handers. Bhajji is the most dangerous when he is bowling a flighted delivery over the wicket. I’m not saying it is the only way he should bowl but it has become a rare sight indeed for someone who loves the sight of Bhajji as he practically waltz down to the crease with a free flowing action and bowls a flighted delivery aiming at the stumps. Frankly, watching Swann bowl those deliveries is not even half as entertaining as Bhajji.

4. Ravichandran Ashwin – He is our very own Mendis and has the mental toughness to adapt and be more than just that.

Off Spin

Carrom Ball

Apart from the regular off spinner, the carrom ball is really a deadly weapon. Without any visible change in the action of the bowler and with Ashwin covering the ball with his left hand for a better part of his bowling action, inexperienced batsmen can easily say goodbye to their stay at the crease when faced with such an adversary.

What Ashwin brings to the plate is not just variations but mental maturity and calmness that can be so essential to his bowling during crunch situations. Being alongside Dhoni in Chennai Super Kings apart from the national team has really helped him even if there were any nerves off the field. When he bowls, he looks like a student solving a difficult puzzle. If he gets something wrong, you can see that he knows how and what went wrong, he just goes back to his run up and tries again without showing any sign of disappointment or anger. I have faith that he is made for bigger things.

P.S. – Left arm orthodox spinners have been left out due to lack of varieties possessed by them, not because they don’t feature as front-line Indian spinners.