`Shelve policy of containing them’

It was simply great to be a part of the quartet, even in the shape of a cog-in-the-wheel, which I really was. Chandra was God’s gift to Indian cricket, he was pure magic. And Venkat, the tough competitor. I observed and absorbed so much from my three contemporaries. We were all were proud of each other and often plotted the down fall of many a batman with simple communication in our practice sessions. The psychology of spin bowling was well ingrained in the quartet.

Against the credential culture when I am asked how would I bowl to modern giants like Tendulkar, Lara, Aravinda de Silva, the Waugh brothers, Inzamam, Saeed Anwar and Jayasuriya, my response is that I would bowl to get them out, not contain them.

Only last season when Tendulkar ostracised Shane Warne, thebattle of two icons appeared to be too one-sided. At Bangalore, Warne asked me, much to my amazement: "How should I bowl to Tendulkar?". I replied: "All you Aussies, including Mark Taylor, have a mental block against Sachin. For goodness sake, the Indian hero is human, and as such fallible like any other. You people don’t think he will get out. Even Bradman got out."

Well, it is not Tendulkar alone I have been asked to bowl to but the cream of world batting of the present day. quite a daunting task. My cricket sense tells me that I am bound to have my share of stick, as is the wont of any spinner willing to toss it up. We might see the odd "sky-scraper", which in my book is more exciting than a "perfume ball".

To substantiate my point point of view let me gather some moral strength from Richie Benaud, who said: "You can spin the ball or flight it, I don’t think it matters what type of cricket you play. If the batsman has to slog, the bowler has an advantage." Bob Taylor, the English ‘keeper who had towork for his place in the sun after Alan Knott, has a lovely behind the stump vision: "It is just a better game for the ‘keeper when the spinners are on. There is more action, more concentration needed and more brains involved." Another ex-England captain Keith Fletcher relied on spinners. "The beauty of having good spinners is that you can keep the pressure on.

There is no easing of tension when the fast men are off," he said. I have sought the above moral strength to emphasise I am not the only slow bowler in the XI when I take on the might of modern batters. Let us start with the toughest of them all, Sachin and Lara.