Five retired left-arm spinners who could walk into the present day Team India unit

India played two left-arm spinners in the second ODI against a resurgent Bangladesh. In tandem, they were meant to do what Ashwin and Harbhajan did in the one-off Test match just a few days ago. Instead, what ensued was another embarrassment. By the time Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel finished their respective seven over spells, the 200 run target was achieved and the humiliation complete.

With two insignificant outings against the Tigers resulting in him being benched for game three, there is nowhere that Jadeja can hide now from the impending axe.

Meanwhile, Axar Patel hasn’t quite set the international scene on fire either. While his economy rate of 4.58 can be termed healthy, 17 wickets from 14 ODIs (with a best of 3/40) can’t quite be termed as match winning. It will now be interesting to see if Jadeja and Patel would retain their places. If they don’t, the curiosity levels are bound to peak with the prospect of calling out the possible replacements.

A left-arm spinner is a vital cog in a team’s bowling arsenal. The angles and variations created, with the deft use of flight, are delightful to watch. And if executed right, left-arm spin (orthodox or otherwise) is always a huge bonus. While it’s the selector’s job now to look at the current crop of spinning options the country possesses to help resurrect the ailing left-arm spinning department while being mindful of the future, I decided to look elsewhere – back in time, to be precise.

Through modern day Cricket, India has produced fine left-arm spinners that operated with varied levels of success. That said, they all had one thing in common - they constricted the opposition, with flight and variations aplenty. What if we played a round of “Fantasy Selector” and decided to “recall” left-arm spinners from the 80s and 90s to replace the Jadeja-Patel due. Who would you pick? Here are five that I did.

1. Murali Kartik

Karthik’s chances were limited since Bhajji and Kumble were at their peak

When Kartik retired in June last year, it brought the curtains down on a 17-year first-class career that witnessed him bowl for India in eight Tests and 37 ODIs. Brimming with talent and mentored by the legendary Bishen Singh Bedi himself, Karthik possessed a lethal arm-ball. His 61 international wickets were overshadowed by a mammoth 644 first-class dismissals.

The Chennai-born spinner also enjoyed highly successful stints at Middlesex and Somerset – winning the domestic T20 title in 2008 with the former and making it to two finals in 2010 and 2011 with the latter. However, Karthik will best be remembered for his match haul of 7/76 against Australia in the 2004 Mumbai Test. Unfortunately, a combination of shoddy treatment from the selectors and his career coinciding with those of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh meant that he never quite received a truly deserved prolonged run in India colors.

Rahul Sanghvi

Sanghvi was part of MI’s star-studded coaching staff

In a brief three-year international career, Sanghvi was handed 11 international caps – a solitary Test included. Always on the look-out for wickets, the Surat born spinner tossed the ball unusually high. The result was batsmen offering him repeated return catches.

Although he did reasonably well in the 10 ODIs that he played, with 3/29 against Zimbabwe being his best, he was dropped soon after India suffered a 37 run loss to the hosts at Harare in1998 and never recalled into the ODI squad again. He suffered a similar fate in Tests as well. On the backdrop of India’s 10 wicket loss to Australia at the Wankhede in the famous 2001 series, Sanghvi was dropped and subsequently slipped into wilderness. That said, Sanghvi will be remembered as a humble spinner with extremely strong good work ethics.

Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri was adjudged player of the tournament in the 1985 World Championship

Mention Ravi Shastri and chances are that your mind would race back to 1985. Images of the Indian team hoisting the World Championship of Cricket trophy atop the Audi car in Australia will forever be etched in folklore and Shastri was in the middle of it all – holding center stage.

Starting off as a batsman in the lower-order and finishing up as an opener, Shastri was (for many) the first Indian left-arm spinning all-rounder in limited overs white-ball Cricket. By his own admission, the tall Mumbaikar wasn’t particularly talented but rose to stardom through sheer hard work.

A grafter of runs while opening the batting, Shastri accumulated 4,650 ODI runs and 3,830 Test runs in an international career that spanned a little over a decade. Over the years, Shastri proved to be the quintessential utility-cricket and shone consistently with the ball as well - his left-arm orthodox finger spinners fetching 151 Test and 129 ODI wickets.

Sunil Joshi

Joshi was a vital member in the ODI team for a while

It would not be totally untrue if stated that Sunil Joshi bowled with a silky smooth action not seen since the days of Bishan Singh Bedi. Delivered with minimum effort, Joshi turned the ball away from the right-handers while employing ample flight.

An India career spanning 5 years saw the spinner from Karnataka bag 110 international wickets. His finest moment, however, came in Nairobi against South Africa. Opting to bat after winning the toss on a turning track, the Proteas were bamboozled by an inexperienced Indian spinning trio.

Joshi led the way and spun a web around the South Africans while finishing with Man-of-the-Match figures of 5/6 with 6 maidens. Joshi was also handy with the bat lower down the order and had four first-class hundreds to show for his batting abilities.

Venkatapathy Raju

Raju tasted success during the early 90’s

By the time Raju retired from first-class cricket in 2004, he had amassed 156 international wickets. Nicknamed “Muscles” for his strikingly diminutive physical stature, Raju bowled with a big heart and lots of flight.

Before falling out of favor due to his arm slowing down and a depleting arm-ball, the Hyderabadi enjoyed good success in the early nineties and was part of two World Cup teams in 1992 and 1996. His ODI best came against the visiting West Indies in Jaipur in 1994 when he returned figures of 4/46.

In Tests, he had five five-fors with 6/12 against Sri Lanka at Chandigarh in 1990 being his best. Despite a relatively short international career, Raju played his part to perfection when bowling in tandem with Anil Kumble and winning games for India.