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The sub-continent has historically been a happy hunting ground for spinners. The sub-continental nations, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have produced some of the finest spinners to have ever played the game such as Muttiah Muralitharan, Anil Kumble, Saqlain Mushtaq, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Mushtaq Ahmed, Erapalli Prasanna and Abdul Qadir to name a few. Thus, one can expect spinners to play a very important role in the 2011 World Cup which will be jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. More or less every team has included two to three spinners in its fifteen man squad and the part-timers too will in all probability be called upon quite frequently. Here, we take a look at some of the best spinners in the game at present, who will also be playing in the World Cup and might have defining roles to play in their team’s quest for the ultimate prize.
Swann’s rise as a top-class spinner in the past couple of years has been nothing short of meteoric. He had to wait for more than seven and a half years to play his second ODI after making his debut in 2000. Swann’s invaluable contribution to English cricket can be gauged by the fact that England’s rise as a cricketing powerhouse has coincided with his growth as a premier off-spinner. He had a key role to play in his team’s triumph in the Twenty20 World Cup in 2010. It won’t be wrong to say that Swann is the only world-class spinner that England have produced in the last two decades or so. Swann has now become an indispensable part of the English side in all forms of the game. He will be knowing quite well that fans back home have a lot of expectations from this English side and if they want to win their first one-day international World Cup in the sub-continent, where wickets are likely to favour spinners, Swann will have a massive role to play.
Daniel Vettori
New Zealand skipper, Daniel Vettori has been the face of his country’s cricket team for a large part of the past decade or so. One of the best left-armers to have ever played the game, Vettori is one of those cricketers who put in a lot of thought into their game. He is New Zealand’s highest wicket-taker in both tests as well as ODIs. His team’s form over the past few years hasn’t been great, but as an individual Vettori has more often than not been right up there with the very best. After leading the side for about four years, he recently stepped down from the test captaincy after losing the test series at home against Pakistan. He has also announced that the World Cup will be his last tournament as the skipper. Vettori has a more important role to play than most of the other players in this list. He will not only have to perform himself, he will also need to lift his team up and ensure that every man gives his 100% out in the middle.
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan has been the spearhead of India’s spin attack for quite a few years, especially in the shorter formats of the game. If India are to win their second World Cup, ‘Bhajji’, as Harbhajan is affectionately referred to by his fans back home, will have a big part to play. Harbhajan knows the conditions as well as anyone else and his experience will definitely come in handy. The other one or the ‘doosra’ that he has developed over the past few years has troubled even the very best in the business. However, the last couple of years have not been Bhajji’s best. He has at times resorted to a defensive approach in order to try can contain the batsman rather than adopting an attacking one to try to pick up wickets, even if it comes at the cost of a few runs. As a result, he has also been at the receiving end of a fair bit of criticism from some of the experts of the game. The whole of India will be hoping that Harbhajan is back to his very best for the World Cup.
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
It would be blasphemy to not include the highest wicket-taker in the history of ODI cricket in this list. Murali may be 38 years old, but he is as passionate about the game as anyone else. Murali is the sort of spinner who can turn the cricket ball on more or less any wicket in the world and when the wickets assist spinners, he is as dangerous as it can possibly get. Murali was probably the first man to perfect the doosra and use it to devastating effect. He has already retired from test cricket and the 2011 World Cup will be his last assignment as an international cricketer. He is the sole surviving member from the Sri Lankan side that won the World Cup in 1996. Having been there and done that, Murali knows what it takes to be the best in the World. He knows the conditions in the sub-continent like the back of his hand and if Murali gets going, it won’t be easy to stop the Lankan Lions.
Shahid Afridi
He burst into the international scene with a blistering 37-ball century in just his second one-day international at 16 years of age. However, he could maintain the high standards with the bat and his shot selection drew a lot of criticism. But despite that, he managed to stay in the side due to his bowling abilities. Over the years, he has developed into a potent leg-spinner and at present, he can walk into the Pakistani side purely as a bowler. He possesses a very well-disguised quicker delivery along with an equally dangerous googly. Leg-spinners are a rare breed in international cricket at this moment and it can be said that Afridi is leading that pack as of now. He has retired from tests and his entire concentration is now directed towards limited overs cricket. Afridi is another man who knows the conditions of the sub-continent very well and his importance is further amplified by the fact that he is the most experienced man in Pakistan’s bowling attack.
Shakib-Al Hasan
Shakib-Al Hasan
No spinner in the world is as important to his side as Shakib-Al Hasan is to Bangladesh. Bangladesh have enjoyed a fair bit of success in recent times in ODI cricket, a 3-0 series win against West Indies in the Caribbean, albeit against a second string side, and a 4-0 clean sweep against New Zealand being the major ones, and on both occasions, Shakib played an instrumental role. He was the highest wicket-taker in ODIs in 2010 with 46 wickets from 27 matches. His career economy rate of 4.25 is excellent in modern day cricket, more so considering the fact that he represents a team that is not considered among the top teams at this moment. In the 2007 World Cup, Bangladesh surprised the entire cricketing fraternity when they defeated India and progressed into the second stage of the tournament for the first time. Shakib is Bangladesh’s captain this time around and if he gets going it will give his team a lot of confidence.
Special Mention
Imran Tahir
This uncapped South African leg-spinner has grabbed a fair bit of media attention in the lead up to the World Cup. Less that a week after becoming eligible to play international cricket for South Africa, Tahir was picked up for the ODI series at home against India. But the team management decided to keep him out of the playing XI, possibly wanting to use him as a secret weapon in the World Cup. His domestic record is very impressive and a big impact at the biggest show can do wonders for his future as a cricketer.
