5 overseas spinners who could have become legends if they had played for India

#2 Daniel Vettori (New Zealand)

Vettori picked up more than 700 wickets across all three formats in his illustrious career

For a side which had to grapple with the retirements of an entire generation of stalwarts, Daniel Vettori led by example and almost single-handedly converted a transitional New Zealand team into a competitive unit during the mid to late 2000s.

Aside from possessing the skills to run through batting lineups on conducive pitches, the left-arm spinner could also entangle well-set batsmen in his web by adopting an economic approach.

With conditions in New Zealand calling for a seam-centric bowling attack, Vettori often had to shoulder the spin department all by himself when Test matches drifted into the last couple of days on tracks slowly beginning to take turn.

Although he might have had to share his tally of wickets with seasoned spinners, the advantage of playing in a bowling unit like India would have meant extensive spin support at the other end.

Statistics

Tests - 362 wickets from 113 matches at an average of 34.36 and strike-rate of 79.5; 20 five-wicket hauls and three ten-wicket hauls

ODIs - 305 wickets from 295 matches at an average of 31.71 and economy-rate of 4.12; two five-wicket hauls

T20Is - 38 wickets from 34 matches at an average of 19.68 and economy-rate of 5.70