6 of India's greatest spin bowlers in Tests

Spin bowling is a difficult art to master. The minute details involved in this form of bowling make it a treat to watch. Spinning the ball perfectly isn't as easy as it seems to be, as it requires great skill, which may take years to develop.

The Indian cricket team has been blessed with some great spinners over the years. These players stood firm in tough times and graced Test cricket with their presence.

This slideshow looks at India's greatest Test spinners over the years.

---

#6 B.S. Chandrasekhar

Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar, often referred to as Chandra, was a leg-spinner. At the age of six, he was attacked by polio and though he recovered significantly by the age of 10, he still had a withered arm. However, Chandrasekhar did not let it dampen his spirit as he became one of India’s greatest spinners.

He has been one of those few athletes who have converted their disability into a strength. The leg-spinner's thin arm meant that he got more flexibility. He bowled very quick compared to an average spinner’s speed and had one of the deadliest googlies of his time.

One of Chandrasekhar's finest spells came against England in 1971. He took 6 for 38 as the Indian cricket team won their first Test on England soil. In 2002, this performance was named as “Indian bowling performance of the century” by Wisden.

The Mysore spinner also had the ability to turn the game on its head. One example of it is the India vs England encounter at the Eden Gardens in 1973. The visitors were set a target of 192 runs to win the Test match.

After some initial hiccups, the English batsmen looked unstoppable as they approached the target. Chandrasekhar was then introduced and he picked up three quick wickets, bundling out England for just 163.

The leg-spinner played his last test in 1979 and ended his career with 242 wickets in 58 matches at an average of 29.74. His numbers in matches won are more phenomenal. The legend scalped 98 wickets in 14 wins at an astonishing average of 19.27.

#5 EAS Prasanna

Erapalli Ananthrao Srinivas Prasanna was a right-arm off break bowler. Prasanna had a small physical frame but his courage was exactly the opposite, towering and unaltered. He was a pleasingly aggressive bowler. His flight and loop were subsets of the set called aggression as he never feared getting hit and fooled many batsmen with these tricks.

He just wasn’t a great bowler in the subcontinent but performed exceptionally outside it as well. In 1967, he returned with 24 wickets when India toured New Zealand in 1967 and with 25 when India toured Australia in the same year.

Prasanna reached 100 career wickets in just 20 matches. His career-best figures of 8/76 vs New Zealand at Auckland still remains the best performance by an Indian bowler overseas.

Even at 37 years of age, the offie had that magic in him. He delivered 4 wickets for 51 runs in an innings at Sydney against Australia. Prasanna played his last Test match in 1978, ending a wonderful career with 957 first-class wickets.

#4 Bishan Singh Bedi

Often regarded as the “Sardar of spin”, Bishan Singh Bedi is easily one of the best left-arm spinners India has produced. He had an incredibly graceful run-up - he ran in smoothly and gently, without a sign of effort, and rolled his arms over. This entire process was perfectly balanced.

The Amritsar spinner delivered some exceptional performances throughout his career. His career-best figures of 7/98 came against Australia at the Eden Gardens in 1968. Bedi ended that three-match series with a tally of 21 wickets.

The left-arm spinner bagged 25 wickets in a series when England toured India in 1972-73. He was a fine bowler in overseas conditions too. In,1977, when India toured Australia, he ended the series with as many as 31 wickets

Bedi played his last Test against England in 1979. He ended his career with a staggering 1560 first-class wickets and still remains the top-most Indian wicket-taker in first-class cricket.

#3 Harbhajan Singh

The right-arm off break bowler is India’s most and world’s second most successful off-spin bowler. He has 417 Test wickets to his credit which includes 25 five-wicket hauls.

Harbhajan isn’t a conventional off-spinner, he relies heavily on pace and bounce. He can hurry the ball onto the batsman, making it uncomfortable for them to play their shots. The 37-year-old also has a great doosra in his bowling armoury.

The Jalandhar spinner burst onto the scene during the 2001 Border- Gavaskar trophy. With Anil Kumble injured, Bhajji was chosen as India’s frontline spinner. He more than justified his selection, ending the three-match series with 32 wickets at an outstanding average of 17.03. During this series, he also became the first Indian to claim a hat-trick in Test cricket.

When India toured Australia in 2007-08, he dismissed the Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, three consecutive times, which led to a lot of speculation about Ponting's troubles against the off-spinner.

Since 2013, Harbhajan has been in and out of the national side. With the age not on his side, a comeback seems highly unlikely. Irrespective of it, Bhajji has been a great servant to Indian cricket and has done an excellent job in setting great standards for aspiring spin bowlers.

#2 Ravichandran Ashwin

The off-spinner made his Test debut against West Indies in 2011 and recorded figures of 6/47 in the second innings of the match. When New Zealand toured India in 2012, the Tamil Nadu bowler pocketed 18 wickets in just two matches at an impressive average of 13. Ever since, he has been on a roll.

Standing at 6’ 2” means that Ashwin gets natural bounce. He is never afraid of flighting the ball and it has played a major role in his success. There was a phase in between, when the offie started experimenting too much. However, for the past few years, it has been his stock delivery and the standard variations that have gotten him all the success.

In the Border-Gavaskar trophy of 2012-13, Ashwin finished the series as the highest wicket-taker with 29 wickets. He performed decently when he toured Australia in 2014-15 and managed to take 12 wickets in the three games that he played.

When India visited Sri Lanka for Kumar Sangakkara’s farewell series, the Tamil Nadu spinner again finished as the highest wicket-taker with 21 wickets. He dismissed Sangakkara four times in the three-match series.

Ashwin was named the “ICC cricketer of the year” and “ICC Test cricketer of the year” in 2016. He also beat Dennis Lilee to become the fastest player ever to reach 300 test wickets.

Just at the age of 31, the Arjuna awardee has 26 five-wicket hauls and looks set for more. At the moment, he ranks among the best spinners in the world.

#1 Anil Kumble

The tall leg-spinner from Bengaluru is arguably the greatest spinner India has produced. He was never the leg-spinner a cricket book would define.

Kumble was unique in every aspect of his bowling. His grip, action, speed and variations, were all different from what was expected of a standard leg-spinner.

The now 47-year-old had a quick run up and a high-arm action. These two attributes meant that he delivered the ball at a quick speed. His pinpoint accuracy along with that speed made him a dreadful bowler to face. Kumble's top-spinner, flipper and googly were amongst the best that the world had seen.

The leg-spinner debuted for India in 1990 and reached 50 wickets in just 10 matches and 100 in 21. He was named one of the five “Wisden cricketers of the year ” in 1996.

One of the most iconic moments of his career came against Pakistan at the Ferozshah Kotla, Delhi in 1999 when he accounted for all the ten wickets in the second innings. Kumble’s 6/78 against West Indies at the Sabina Park in 2006 was also a very inspiring performance.

He retired in 2008 with 619 Test wickets and is India's highest and world's third highest wicket taker of all time. Throughout his career, Kumble presented some fine examples of courage and hard work.

An absolute champion. One wonders if India will ever get another leg-spinner like him.