We have found our new SPIN TWINS !

“There are two things in life for which we are never truly prepared: Twins.” – Josh Billings

The word ‘twins’, always brings in the ‘Wow!’ expression on everybody’s face. With that it brings to fore a sense of nagging curiosity, where you’d want to closely witness either version of a twin, for your eyes to believe it. In India, people like to believe in identical twins, so that it’s easy for the naked eye to verify their existence. Non identical twins are often looked over under this category, where the ‘Wow!’ is brought down to a mere ‘Oh!’  

An interesting observation says that, Families with Twins have a higher chance of producing more twins than families without twins. Given this observation I have no doubts that the biggest family which produces twins in India is the BCCI. Scrolling down the pages of history can give you more affirmation on this thought. And when you do so, you’d realize the word ‘Spin twins’ have created quite a stir in long equal intervals.  The word ‘twins’ in its literary meaning might say ‘either of two persons or things closely related to or closely resembling each other.’, but when it comes to cricket , the meaning can undergo a paradigm shift i.e. ‘ 2 spinners who spin the ball either ways, complimenting each other at any surface & backing his better half  to take wickets’. That was quite an elaborate one, but cricket buffs can surely make much more meaning out of it.

The story of spin twins over the ages has often created a flutter in many a cricket playing countries.   Not many countries have had the gift of producing such unique twins. We have had amazing pairs & partnerships in batting, fielding & even fast bowling for that matter. With due regards to the Indian fast bowlers, it’s the spinners who have contributed immensely for India over the years.

During the 60’s & 70’s, an attack which was considered to match the deadliness of the West Indian fast bowling attack, was the ‘Spin Quartet’ , featuring Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkatraghavan, Bhagvat Chandrashekar & Bishan Singh Bedi. The cricketers then were pretty clueless about who would turn the ball which way, making it mentally difficult for the batsman to adapt to a delivery. The batsmen were often victims of a combination of their own indecisiveness & the bowlers wily thought process. It was then not possible for all four of them to feature in the same team, but atleast a couple of them were compulsorily part of the 11 at any surface. The journey of various era’s called the ‘Spin twins’ began then. It is an outstanding feat created by a couple of spin twins then, where they had nearly 850 wickets in 230 test matches between them. An off-spinner & a leg spinner were usually part of a fraternity unique only to India called the Spin twins.

After the retirement of the quartet, many spinners came & went. They turned the ball quite a long way, but were unable to find the right support at the other end, thus denying them an opportunity to be a part of the famous fraternity. Often players forced themselves to find a partner, but by doing so they ended their careers with that elusive search which went in vain.

There emerged a spinner, with round spectacles & a quick action. Batsmen were often baffled with the speed & turn with which the ball would approach them. It was Anil Kumble, who didn’t know that he was going to be part of the fraternity & pioneer it for the ages to come. There were many bowlers who tried to match him in that period, but perished in vain. Anil Kumble’s style needed a bowler, who could support & compliment him, instead of a bowler who could match him. His aggressive style needed a bowler from the other end, who could keep the batsmen under control & keep him guessing. By the time the batsmen realized it, Kumble would come on to bowl & claim his victim. Many spinners came close to doing it, but it was destined for a young Punjabi lad, who had a lot of heat within him & the urge to learn and perform under the shadow of a true teacher. Little did Anil kumble know that it would be a thin, frail framed teenager, who would help him continue & be a part of a famous fraternity called the Spin twins. Anil Kumble was then complimented by Harbhajan Singh, who is now famously known as the Turbanator.

It was during the late 90’s & the beginning of the new millennium that saw them, work in tandem to produce results like never before, especially in test cricket. The witty mind of Kumble & crafty spin of Harbhajan proved to be a deadly combination. Harbhajan was willing to work under Kumble, who is a much experienced statesman than him. That was a major factor that helped them perform together. ‘Bhajji’ acted as the perfect foil to the ‘Jumbo’, as between them they totally have nearly 1000 test wickets. Batsmen were often tied down by the variety that these two brought onto a pitch which was named a batsmen’s paradise. The wicket taking ability was so infectious when they used to bowl in tandem. If one picks up a wicket, the spinner from the other end is spurred up competitively, leading to a havoc which creates a collapse in the opposition’s camp. H.Singh grew tremendously in stature, giving him the nick name ‘Turbanator.’ He was single handedly winning games for India.  

Everybody ages, every cricketer has an end. Kumble pushed himself to a very large extent with the company of Harbhajan. But it couldn’t happen for eternity. The retirement of Kumble, left Harbhajan to handle the entire load all by him. By this time, Indian cricket reached to a point where, it weighed heavily on spinners. The vacuum left by kumble could never be filled. Harbhajan was left alone & during his search of a partner who be parented by him was reaching new heights. He often bowled with part time spinners or spinners who were ineffective to fall under his line & understanding. Not many fit the bill to become his new spin twin. By this time, a new lease of life called the IPL emerged. Many finds were made during the IPL. The ladder got by IPL was exactly the opposite of the ladder climbed by Harbhajan Singh. It was test cricket, One day & then T20. But IPL swapped the ladder & players climbed the other way round. This could have possibly left Singh in a cusp of change, where he couldn’t find the right partner. There were ‘bits-and-pieces’ bowlers emerging, who weren’t tested properly. This inability to find the right talent at the right time could have given a light sense of irresponsibility to the turbanotor. But India was getting ahead of times, and had a completely new approach after the disastrous England tour.  H.Singh seemed to have taken his place for granted. His minor injury, gave emergence to youngsters. The selectors soon realized that it was the opportune moment, to test the bench strength.  

In came R.Ashwin & P.Ohja. Both of these bowlers had been performing really well given their opportunities, but unfortunately couldn’t find their places cemented. That was mainly due to the stagnation of H.Singh, who’s an instinct bowler. In the sense, 1 wicket was enough to get him going on a roll, but he struggled to get that inertia to start off well. P.Ohja was bowling well in patches before, when he was on & off the team list. But his homework during the list A games & his stint with the English county club, Surrey gave him life changing lessons. This move too was mooted by spin bowling legend, Anil Kumble.

While R.Ashwin kept performing well during the IPL season, who emerged to be an attacking bowler who could bowl during the power plays. That provided the Indians to have an attacking option within the power play. His attitude & grit helped him gain a spot in the Indian ODI plans. Both in England & India against England, he had performed really well, masking the absence of Harbhajan Singh. He led the spin attack with his unique carom balls & attacking off spinners. This was the bite Harbhajan Singh was lacking in the recent past. His defensive approach in the later part of his career played into the hands of R.Ashwin.

The series against West Indies was about to begin, where Harbhajan Singh was not picked. This was the first time in his career that he was dropped & the first time in a decade that they have played without either of Kumble or Harbhajan. The team announced looked a bit questionable especially without any of the leading bowlers. Cricket pundits thought it was a brave move to drop someone with such caliber, especially in Indian conditions. Ashwin & Ohja took up the challenging task.

Even though the West Indies were considered an easy opposition, the bowlers still had to do their job. It was in question, whether Ashwin & Ohja had the temperament & variety to get 20 wickets in a match. As the series unfolded, so did a surprise. Irrespective of the opposition, these 2 young lads showed much more than just spin bowling – a lot of heart. It is a known fact that any spinner needs to have a lot of patience & a big heart if he needs to succeed in any conditions. With all the 3 games giving very little for the spinners in the first 3 days, you could have had young, inexperienced spinners waiting for something to happen rather than taking initiative at the cost of their spot. But these spinners, looked like they were bothered more about winning the test match, rather than saving their spot for the next game. The approach was refreshingly new for a test spinner, who’s looking for a long future with Indian cricket. The results were evident. They were given the new ball during quite a few occasions by a captain, who is the agent of change. Ashwin’s variety & Ohja’s nagging line were a perfect foil to each other bowling in tandem. Ashwin & Ohja backed up each other so well, knowingly or unknowingly. In their first ever test series together, have got nearly 42 wickets in 6 innings. The math is pretty simple. That’s 7 wickets on an average between them, every innings.

This stupendous performance has now left a very narrow door open to Harbhajan Singh. This has shunted him out of the upcoming Australian test series, against whom he was magical once & got his name -Turbanator. This performance has not only mounted massive pressure on him to perform but also given the selectors immense belief on the new spin twins.

Though this might be too early to rule out the possibility of Singh’s comeback, given his caliber & his experience, this sends an alarm to the entire team that, no one’s place can be taken for granted, EVER. This selection of R.Aswhin & P.Ohja would do a world of difference to their morals, and re-instate the belief the selectors have in them.  Remember that Families with Twins have a higher chance of producing more twins than families without twins - that’s Indian cricket for you!

Cricket lovers & Indian fans believe that they are about to witness the new era of  young guns in Indian cricket, & this recent performance gives them every chance to think that we have found our new “SPIN TWINS !”

“There are two things in life for which we are never truly prepared: Twins.” – Josh Billings. I’d mentioned this at the beginning of my blog. So true, if Harbhajan Singh had said this!