If Wasim and Imran can help India’s fledgling pace bowlers, our legendary spinners can reciprocate. And Bishan Singh Bedi is doing just that, offering his expertise if the Pakistan Cricket Board so wants it.Bedi, in Pakistan for the recent series, visited Shaukat Rana’s cricket academy in Lahore where he realised that ‘‘there is a lot of talent there, like in India, which needs to be harnessed and channelled.’’And concerned over the dearth of quality spinners in Pakistan, chief selector Wasim Bari had recently recommended to the PCB that it invite Bedi for a ‘‘special training camp for upcoming bowlers.’’‘‘I’ll be too happy to contribute for the betterment of the game,’’ Bedi said today, adding that he’d already sought the BCCI’s permission to visit Pakistan if the offer materialises.Bedi has always lamented the decline of slow bowling all over the world, which he blames on the overdose of one-day cricket. ‘‘Spin bowling is one aspect of the game which needs longer duration to imbibe in one’s system,’’ he had often said.Bedi recalled his earlier meetings with Iqbal Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed during their tour of India and the Pakistani bowlers giving credit to the Indian spinner for their performances.Talking about the current crop of quality spinners in Pakistan, Bedi said: ‘‘Kaneria is suffering because of an overdose of one-day cricket. He has to be nourished properly for the longer duration of the game.’’ The current gameplan, he says, is to fire at the batsmen all the time. ‘‘The art of flighting the ball is slowly on the decline.’’Bedi feels that spin bowling ‘‘is the most outstanding aspect of the thinking process in the game. Fast bowling is slow thinking while spin bowling is fast thinking. A slow bowler has to be in the game all the time,’’ he reiterated.The good news for spin bowling, though, is the recent form of Shane Warne, the first spinner to take 500 wickets in Tests. And, closer home, the match-winning performances of Anil Kumble in Australia and Pakistan. ‘‘He won us matches in Australia and Pakistan single-handed. I wish he had a spinner in tandem at the other end,’’ Bedi said.Bedi is of the firm opinion that spinners are the strengths of Indian teams. ‘‘No doubt, the present crop of young pacers (Irfan Pathan and Balaji) have done a wonderful job in Australia and Pakistan. While Pathan is shaping into another Kapil Dev, Balaji was the surprise packet in Pakistan. But our physique is not much suited to fast bowling. It’s the spinners who will win us matches. We have to nurture them properly’’, the left-arm spinner said.He felt the character of the game must remain the same. ‘‘We must push back the boundaries so that spinners can plan the dismissal of batsmen. With the heavy modern bats, batsmen find it easier to score fours and sixes than spinners are able to take wickets,’’ he opined.
