Left is bright

Eight years and numerous comebacks later,Murali Kartik astonishingly emerged from the spotlights of the studio,shed his blazer for an India uniform and entered his name into the record books with figures of six for 27 — still the best by any left-arm spinner in ODIs — against Australia in 2007. The Railways skipper appeared in only three further ODIs before he was left out once again.

Ever since Bishen Singh Bedi hung up his boots in the late 70s,India have been in a never-ending search for a successor who could revive the once dominant art. Maninder Singh came on to the scene a decade later as a super-talented 17-year-old,but lost his rhythm,and his place in the side,after a couple of seasons. Venkatapathy Raju formed one part of a successful spin trio in the 90s,especially at home,but all through his 28 Tests and 53 ODIs,he played second fiddle to Anil Kumble.

And when,two years ago,the then chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar said there were no quality left-arm spinners left in the country,the revival seemed to have hit its biggest roadblock as yet.

Comfort in numbers
Over the last few months,however,there’s been a big change. While Pragyan Ojha was impressive in the two Tests he played against Sri Lanka,Ravindra Jadeja has proved to be a revelation in the ongoing ODI series. More crucially,a look at the Ranji Trophy statistics for this season reveals that six of the top eight spinners roll their left arms over.

They include 17-year-old Harmeet Singh,16-year-old Aushik Srinivas,20-year-old Iqbal Abdulla and 22-year-old Dhiraj Singh,in addition to 28-year-old Rakesh Dhurv and the experienced Kartik. Meanwhile,the India under-19 squad that left for South Africa en route to New Zealand for the World Cup includes four left-arm spinners — Manan Sharma,Harmeet Singh,captain Ashok Meenaria and all-rounder Gaurav Jathar.

Not surprisingly,Joshi,who hasn’t been among the wickets so far this season,is overjoyed with this sudden emergence of youngsters of his ilk. “I had disagreed with Dilipbhai even then and told him that there were definitely a number of us around on the circuit. It was up to the selectors to pick us,” says the 39-year-old from Karnataka.

Raju,now 40 and coaching the Hyderabad side,feels this is part of a cycle. “Even after Bedi,the Indian team has had a left-arm spinner as part of the squad,off and on. But what is happening now is a very healthy sign,” he says.

Second fiddle
While some experts believe that the left-arm spinners in the post-Bedi era have only flattered to deceive,a majority insist that they have been treated as bridesmaids by the selectors and been forced to play every game carrying a ‘perform or perish’ tag.

When Bedi was tying up opposition batsmen with deliveries tied to a string,he ensured that domestic stalwarts such as Padmakar Shivalkar and Rajinder Goel never got a whiff of the big stage. Were all who followed only playing second fiddle to higher quality tweakers?

In the last 10-15 years,left-armers have been the first to receive cuts from the squad and even recently,the return of leggie Amit Mishra meant Ojha was left out of the Champions Trophy squad despite having put in consistent performances earlier in the year.

In the 90s,left-arm spinners played 39 Tests and 117 ODIs. This decade,they’ve only played 18 Tests and 89 ODIs between them. Raju feels the main reason for the downturn in their fortunes has been the dominance of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh (except for three Tests in between when Kumble was injured and Harbhajan out of favour that saw Joshi and Kartik bowl in tandem).

“Joshi and Kartik proved their mettle every time they got an opportunity but Anil and Harbhajan had established themselves as match-winners and India couldn’t afford to play a third spinner except on rare occasions,” says Raju,who points out that having all-rounders Manoj Prabhakar and Kapil Dev in the line-up afforded the team of the 90s the luxury of playing three spinners.

It’s equally likely that they suffered,for a large part of the decade,at the hands of India’s most successful captain. All through his career,Sourav Ganguly had treated opposition left-arm spinners with such disdain that there was a theory he didn’t particularly rate them very highly. Ganguly himself says it was more to do with the presence of Kumble and Harbhajan,than his disdain for the art. But with India looking for match-winning options post Kumble,Dhoni has shown no reluctance to include them in his search for a successor.

Early development
While left-arm spinners have suddenly been getting a longer rope over the last few months,Tamil Nadu coach WV Raman insists it’s their early development that’s crucial. “The limited-overs format often curbs a spinner’s development spinner with its restrictions in the outfield,” he says.

Orissa coach Avkash Khatua,however,believes that youngsters must get a taste of the unforgiving world of T20 and 50-over cricket. “In today’s world,you have to adapt to all three formats if you want to be successful,” he says.

Raju,meanwhile,feels there is a middle path. Though left-arm spinners since Bedi have usually been used only in restrictive roles,Raju feels they can still be attacking options. “They get selected for the national side only because they have been picking up wickets at the domestic level. Why can’t they perform the same role on the big stage?” he asks.

Incidentally,neither Jadeja nor Ojha fall into the classical mould,charting a flattish trajectory through the air. Harmeet and Srinivas,on the other hand,have started off as more orthodox operators. “Scoring rates have multiplied,even in Test matches. A spinner can’t just run up,flight the ball and wait for batsmen to make mistakes. It’s important to adapt,just as Daniel Vettori has done for so long,” says Raju.

But while the sheer numbers are encouraging,Vengsarkar still expresses his reservations. “It is important to gauge how many of these are really world-class,and then groom them. Every domestic team will have spinners,we’ll have to wait and see how many are actually set for the big stage,” he says.

What it does mean,however,is that irrespective of how Ojha or Jadeja perform — or whether or not the likes of Harmeet and Srinivas spark a resurgence of left-arm spin — at least Kris Srikkanth looks set to have more options up his sleeve than his predecessor.

But while numbers are encouraging,Vengsarkar still expresses his reservations: “It is important to gauge how many of these are really world-class,and then groom them.”

Flight club:The men who’re making it fashionable again
Rakesh Dhurv (Saurashtra)
28 years old
Debut: 1999-00 season
36th-highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Elite Division so far 16 wickets at 33.18 in 5 matches

Best performance: 5 for 107
Though many of his team mates from the successful Indian under-19 team who lifted the World Cup in 2000 have gone on to receive higher honours,28-year-old Rakesh Dhurv has continued to perform for Saurashtra with both bat and ball. Tall and stocky,Dhurv delivers with an awkward action and extracts decent bounce off any wicket. But even his impressive show with the ball wasn’t enough to propel Saurashtra into the knockout stage this season,though the all-rounder stuck to his guns and made up for Ravindra Jadeja’s absence with the ball.

Iqbal Abdulla (Mumbai)
20 years old
Debut: 2007-08 season
11th-highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Elite Division so far 24 wickets at 29.25 in 6 matches

Best performance: 4 for 48
Though all of 20,Iqbal Abdulla has an aura of having been around for a long time on the domestic circuit. But after not making a meaningful impact in any of the opportunities he received in his first two seasons,Abdulla finally seems to have come into his own. He grabbed the chance of leading Mumbai’s spin attack in the absence of Ramesh Powar and has done consistently well with the ball,though a major haul still remains elusive. “Iqbal is more of a restrictive type of bowler and bowls with a flatter trajectory. He still has a lot of time to improve,” says WV Raman.

Aushik Srinivas (Tamil Nadu)
16 years old
Debut: 2009-10 season
17th-highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Elite Division so far 21 wickets at 25.28 in 7 matches

Best performance: 7 for 107
Tamil Nadu coach WV Raman says he knew Aushik Srinivas was made for the big league when he saw the youngster bowl for the first time — in the TNCA Academy as a 13-year-old. Raman is not a bit surprised with the huge impression that Srinivas has made in his debut Ranji season. “He has the ability to beat batsmen both in the air and off the wicket regardless of the pitch conditions and the teenager has a temperament to go with his ability,” says the TN coach. Though impressive in almost all his outings,it was the 16-year-old Srinivas’s seven for 107 against Mumbai in an away encounter — that gained TN the crucial first-innings lead — that really brought him into the limelight. “Aushik’s seven-wicket haul against Mumbai was not only on a flat wicket but it also came in a pressure situation against an experienced batting line-up,” says Raman.

Murali Kartik (Railways)
33 years old
Debut: 1996-97 season
27th-highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Elite Division so far 17 wickets at 25.05 in 7 matches

Best performance: 5 for 81
Into his 13th season in first-class cricket,the 33-year-old Murali Kartik has experienced many ups and downs in his career. But whether he is playing in England for Middlesex or captaining Railways in the Ranji Trophy,Kartik,who has close to 500 first-class scalps,has continued to be among the wickets. None of the opposition batsmen could really get going against the veteran this season,and Kartik was the most economical bowler during the league stages. His five for 81 against Mumbai at the Karnail Singh Stadium couldn’t stop the Ranji champions from gaining the first-innings lead,but his battle against centurion Rohit Sharma was one of the most fascinating showdowns during the league phase.

Dhiraj Singh (Orissa)
22 years old
Debut: 2008-09 season
Ninth-highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Elite Division so far 25 wickets at 30.04 in 6 matches

Best performance: 4 for 29
Tall and gawky with an innocuous bowling action,Dhiraj Singh might hardly seem like a threat when he rolls his left arm over for Orissa. But the 22-year-old,who took seven wickets on debut in 2008-09 against Rajasthan,has made a significant impact in the Ranji Trophy this season. Dhiraj was the leading spinner in the wicket-takers’ tally with 25 wickets during the league phase and was one of the main reasons for his state’s survival in the Elite Division for next season. “He might not be very talented but he utilises his height to the fullest and is very hard-working. Dhiraj has displayed great temperament and is always ready to bowl long spells. He has picked up wickets even on seaming tracks this season,” says Orissa coach Avkash Khatua.

Harmeet Singh (Mumbai)
17 years old
Debut: 2009-10 season
11th-best average
12 wickets at 18.25 in 2 matches
Best performance: 4 for 89 on debut
Like Srinivas,Harmeet Singh,too,was spotted by Mumbai coach Pravin Amre at a young age while bowling in the Shivaji Park Academy. But by the time the 17-year-old made his first-class debut,he was already a known figure in the local circuit,having been written about since his school days. Harmeet didn’t disappoint,picking up seven wickets on debut against Himachal Pradesh and leading his team to a crucial victory. Three of his first four wickets were stumpings. “He is mature way beyond his years and is a very bright talent. We need to preserve him well,” says Amre.

The colts
Harmeet Singh will lead the spin attack for the Indian colts in New Zealand. Supporting him will be another Mumbai all-rounder,Gaurav Jathar,who has been impressive in junior cricket for both state and country.Manan Sharma,son of former Indian cricketer Ajay,is a Daniel Vettori fan and will be looking to impress in his idol’s backyard. Skipper Ashok Menaria’sprimary role is that of a middle-order batsman,but it was with his left-arm spin that he impressed the most for Rajasthan on his first-class debut against Mumbai last season.