India has traditionally been known as the land of spinners and we have produced some fantastic talents over the years. Even now, Indian spinners are some of the best in the world. We rank them according to how good they are at the moment:
Ravichandran Ashwin (9/10):
Ashwin has been India’s best spinner for the past five to six years and has been fantastic for the country, especially in the sub-continent. Ashwin can mix it up very well and has become one of the connoisseurs of the carom ball.
He has evolved a lot and is able to extract bounce or spin the ball whenever he feels like. He has not been able to replicate his form on foreign soils however and will look to change that next year.
Ravindra Jadeja (8.5/10):
Currently the best bowler in the world, Jadeja has been brilliant for India over the past few years and has become a genuine winner for the team. His left-arm off-breaks are not easy to read and the angle at which he bowls from makes it harder to read for batsmen.
He can vary his pace or spin and is really effective on turning tracks. He has to replicate his form on foreign tracks too, if he is to be considered one of the all-time greats.
Axar Patel (8/10)
Axar Patel is a very exciting young cricketer who is slowly making a name for himself at the international level. He is a very smart cricketer who plays according to the need of the situation and doesn’t experiment too much. He is very much like Ravindra Jadeja in his approach. In his short international career so far, he has impressed one and all with his control on the ball which is very effective in keeping a check on the run rate in the middle overs in ODI cricket.
Amit Mishra (7.5/10):
Mishra would have been India’s number one spinner if it wasn’t for the likes of Jadeja and Ashwin in his place. He is a good spinner of the ball and can be quite a player on a good day. His leg-spinners are very hard to pick and so are his wrong ones.
However, he has not been able to hit the heights that were expected of him. Nevertheless, he has made a career for himself and must be appreciated for doing so.
Kuldeep Yadav (7.5/10):
Yadav is India’s first Chinaman bowler and has shown that he possesses the skill to pick up wickets in hard conditions. He was great in the Australian and West Indian series and is the future of the Indian team if he continues this form for a while.
Yadav is still young and has many years ahead of him. If he can work hard and learn a few more tricks, he could easily become one of the best in the world.
Yuzvendra Chahal (7/10):
After being backed heavily by Virat Kohli, Chahal has been putting in the performances that justify his selection in the team. He picked up a 6-wicket haul last year and came good even in the ongoing Sri Lanka series.
Chahal might not be a regular starter but he must make use of all the opportunities coming his way to keep himself relevant and in the captain’s plans for the future.
By Rohit Nair
