Who has been the most effective overseas Test spinner in India?

Imran Tahir will be hoping to carry forward his limited-overs form to the Test formatIndian pitches and spinners are attached to each other like a new born baby is to his mother. On the Indian pitches, Indian spinners can decimate the opposition on the tracks that are helpful for spin bowling but the spinners from the opposition do not quite often achieve the same success.Over the years, we have seen spinners who have a decent reputation but fail to achieve success on Indian pitches.So it is quite an interesting question that who has been the most effective overseas Test spinner in India?

#8 Muttiah Muralitharan

In India, Murali's bowling average was twice that of his average overall

Muttiah Muralitharan needs no introduction. The highest wicket taker in tests as well as international cricket, Muralitharan was the backbone of the Sri Lankan bowling for many years. So let’s have a look at Murali’s record in India:

Number of tests overall	Number of wickets overall	Bowling Average
133	800	22.72
Number of tests in India	Number of wickets in India	Bowling Average in India
11	40	45.45

Though Muralitharan had a stellar test career, his test bowling figures took a beating when he played in India. His bowling average more than doubled in India which shows how well Indians managed him in their own backyard.

#7 Shane Warne

Shane Warne had a bad record in India

The magician with the ball, Shane Warne was an absolute joy to watch. He could turn the ball miles as seen in his epic dismissal of Andrew Strauss. But how did Shane Warne fare in India. Let’s find out below:

Number of tests overall	Number of wickets overall	Bowling Average
145	708	25.41
Number of tests in India	Number of wickets in India	Bowling Average in India
9	34	43.11

Shane Warne had a bad record in India. His average in India is almost 18 runs higher than his overall career average. Shane Warne was tackled much better by the Indian batsmen in their own conditions.

#6 Iqbal Qasim

Qasim (centre) in now the chief selector of the Pakistan Cricket Team

Iqbal Qasim was a slow left-arm orthodox bowler for Pakistan. In a career that spanned 50 tests he achieved a decent amount of success. So let’s see how he performed in India:

Number of tests overall	Number of wickets overall	Overall Bowling Average
50	171	28.11
Number of tests in India	Number of wickets in India	Bowling Average in India
10	29	33.86

Though Iqbal Qasim is a lesser celebrated bowler than Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan but he has a better average in India than both of those bowlers. His average though is still slightly on the higher side in the Indian conditions.

#5 Graeme Swann

Graeme Swann fared well in Indian conditions

Graeme Swann is perhaps the best offspinner England has produced.A spinner who relied on classical off-breaks instead of Doosras and Carrom balls, he had a pretty successful test career.So let’s see how he performed in India:-

Number of tests overall	Number of wickets overall	Bowling Average
60	255	29.96
Number of tests in India	Number of wickets in India	Bowling Average in India
6	28	28.96

Graeme Swann was an integral part of the England team that beat India in their own conditions in 2012.He had a fair amount of success in India in the six tests he played here.

#4 Derek Underwood

Derek Underwood had a good record in India

Derek Underwood was nicknamed ‘Deadly’ because of the trouble he caused to the batsmen on the rain-affected wickets. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler for England Underwood had a pretty successful test career. So let’s see how he fared in India:

Number of tests overall	Number of wickets overall	Bowling Average
86	297	25.83
Number of tests in India	Number of wickets in India	Bowling Average in India
16	54	26.51

Underwood had a much better record in India than the two modern day greats – Warne and Muralitharan. His bowling average in India is as good as his overall bowling average which shows he achieved a fair amount of success in India.

#3 Lance Gibbs

Lance Gibbs performed well in India

Lance Gibbs was a right arm off break bowler for West Indies. A miserly bowler, he had an economy rate of under two runs. With a career that saw a fair amount of success, let’s analyse Gibbs’ performance in India:

Number of tests overall	Number of wickets overall	Bowling Average
79	309	29.09
Number of tests in India	Number of wickets in India	Bowling Average in India
9	39	23.38

Lance Gibbs is another bowler with a better average in Indian conditions than his overall career average.He has a brilliant record in Indian conditions in the nine tests he played in India.

#2 Ashley Mallet

Ashley Mallet made good use of Indian pitches when Australia toured India

Ashley Mallet was a right arm off break bowler for Australia.He had a decent international career that lasted for 38 tests and let’s analyse his record in India:

Number of tests overall	Number of wickets overall	Overall Bowling Average
38	132	29.84
Number of tests in India	Number of wickets in India	Bowling Average in India
5	28	19.10

Ashley Mallet’s record in India is great though the number of tests he played is quite less. A bowling average of 19.10 although in 5 tests is a great record. His bowling average is only bettered by Richie Benaud amongst the overseas spin bowlers.

#1 Richie Benaud

Richie Benaud achieved immense success in India as a spinner

Richie Benaud bowled leg break googly for Australia in a career that spanned from 1952 to 1964. He was also a capable batsman and later in his life turned out to be one of the more renowned commentators.A celebrated leg break bowler let’s see how Benaud fared in India:

Number of tests overall	Number of wickets overall	Bowling Average
63	248	27.03
Number of tests in India	Number of wickets in India	Bowling Average in India
8	52	18.38

Richie Benaud had immense success in India as seen by the stats above.His average in India is lower than his overall career average by almost nine runs.Though he played only 8 tests in India, an average of 18.38 in any conditions is a performance to reckon with.

What is astonishing to notice is that the two great bowlers, Warne and Murali are not in the contention for the best overseas bowler in India.Personally I believe, the title for the best overseas bowler should go to Richie Benaud because of his exceptional record in Indian conditions.