5 most underrated Indian spinners

When you talk about cricket in the subcontinent, especially in India, spin bowling will be among the top three talking points. And there is absolutely no doubt that the teams from the subcontinent keep churning out quality spinners.

And India are no exception. They have always produced top-quality spinners. Right from Vinoo Mankad to Subhash Gupte to the spin quartet (BS Chandrasekhar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna and S Venkataraghavan) to the duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh and now Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja along with Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, there has never been a dearth of spinners in India.

However, there have been a few spinners who have played important roles for the side but have never gotten their due. So, here’s a look at five of them:

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#5 Pragyan Ojha

Pragyan Ojha shot into prominence as the best left-arm spinner to play for India since Bishan Singh Bedi. Ojha made his international debut in June 2008 against Bangladesh in an Asia Cup game and after stringing in some decent limited-overs performances, earned his maiden Test call-up a year later.

India were on the hunt for a spin partner for Harbhajan Singh after Anil Kumble retired and Ojha was one of the front-runners for the spot after decent outings in his first few games (where he picked up 13 wickets in five innings). But it was only in 2011 that Ojha truly began to maximise his potential as a Test bowler.

But, he often played second-fiddle to first Harbhajan and then Ashwin.

Ojha's record shows that he more often than not delivered strong performances when his side were in a spot of bother. In the 24 Tests he played, he took 113 wickets at an average of 30.26 which includes 7 five-wicket hauls.

November 2013 (Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell game) was the last time Ojha played a Test and he has never donned the Indian colours since.

#4 S Venkataraghavan

S Venkataraghavan

S Venkataraghavan was a part of the famous Indian spin quartet which also included Bedi, Chandrasekhar and Prasanna. But being the fourth member of the quartet meant he never got as much attention as the other three.

Even his numbers put him fourth on that list. 156 wickets in 57 Tests at an average of 36.12 didn’t do enough justice to the talent he possessed. However, Venkataraghavan was the most accurate among the four and was mostly asked to play a supporting role to the other spinners. Hence, his economy of 2.27 is justified.

The Chennai-born off-spinner’s international record might not be great but he was a force at the domestic and first-class level. He played 341 first-class games and picked up a whopping 1390 wickets which included 85 five-wicket hauls. Thus, Venkataraghavan will go down as one of the best spinners and also one who never got the attention he deserved.

#3 Sunil Joshi

Sunil Joshi

It is a little surprising that a man who took more than 800 wickets in his first-class and List A career played only 84 international games (69 ODIs and 15 Tests) for India.

Sunil Joshi made his first-class debut in the 1992/93 season and on the back of some consistent performances, was picked in the Indian team in 1996. But the left-arm spinner played only 15 Tests, picking up 41 wickets at an average of 35.85. He also played 69 one-days in which he took 69 scalps, which included a brilliant 5/6 against South Africa in 1999.

One of Joshi’s main strengths was his impeccable line and length. In addition to his left-arm off-spin, the Karnataka player was also a handy lower order batsman.

But his career coincided with the emergence of arguably India’s greatest spinner Anil Kumble. Thus, he was constantly in and out of the team and his career never took off.

#2 Murali Kartik

Murali Kartik

The Chennai-born left-armer is perhaps one of the most unfortunate spinners in this list. Murali Kartik’s career took shape when two of India’s best spinners were at their peak. Hence, he mostly got a chance only when either of Anil Kumble or Harbhajan Singh were injured/rested.

Kartik made his Test debut in 2000 at the Wankhede Stadium against South Africa. He had a decent debut as he picked up 3/78 in the match. But with no impactful performances thereafter, he could not cement his place in either the Test or ODI team. Thus, he played his last Test back in 2004 (10 years before he retired from competitive cricket).

One of the best moments of his career came in October 2007 when he bamboozled the Australian batsmen, taking 6/27 to restrict the Aussies to 193. That year (2007) was the last time the left-arm offie made an international appearance. However, he continued playing domestic cricket and was a key member of Surrey's County side for a few years.

#1 Amit Mishra

Amit Mishra

When Amit Mishra made his debut against Australia in 2008 (in Anil Kumble’s last Test series), it looked like he was the perfect replacement for Kumble. But as time passed, he failed to live up to the expectations and hype created around him.

He played 10 Tests between October 2008 and August 2010 and all of them were in the subcontinent. He picked up 36 scalps during this period. They were decent numbers but his tendency to bowl a couple of bad deliveries in every over meant that India couldn’t bank on him for their overseas sojourns even after Harbhajan was left out.

Mishra’s ODI career also followed a similar pattern as he never truly cemented his place in the side. He has taken 64 wickets in 36 games at an average of 23.62 and boasts a strike-rate of about 30. Thus, it is rather unfortunate that Mishra hasn’t got a consistent run to establish himself.