Spin bowling is always the heart of Indian cricket. Whether we see the past or present, spinners were a major and essential part of making the country and team proud. We have always seen SENA countries [South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia] able to give top-notch performances with their batters and pacers, but they always lack a spin attack, which is a major weapon of the Indian cricket team and always frustrates other teams. Playing on bouncy pitches with grass and then facing Indian spinners on dusty, dry, and no-grassy soil pitches was always a major challenge for other cricket teams. Spin bowling generally consists of various variations such as off-spin, left spin, googly, wrist spin, and many more. Ball spinning takes a longer time to come on the bat, which makes the batter make an impulsive and greedy decision that they later regret. Now let’s talk about the 10 greatest Indian spinners of all time in this article.
Top 10 Greatest Indian Spinners of all time
1). Anil Kumble
Being criticized for getting selected in the Indian team to become India’s greatest spinner, the journey was hard but worth it. Yes, we are talking about none other than Anil Kumble, the gentle giant of India. In the early days of his debut, he was criticized for his spin bowling style because Anil Kumble bowls low spin, but it is more in pace and does not turn as often as other spinners. Proving others wrong, he became India’s highest wicket-taking bowler ever. He ended his career with a total of 956 wickets [619 wickets in tests and 337 wickets in ODI matches]. He is also the first Indian bowler to take 300 test wickets. Kumble was the unorthodox spinner whose ball did not spin much but became India’s one of the greatest spinners. His 10-wicket haul against Pakistan is one of the most memorable moments for all Indian cricket fans. Also Read: Top 10 Greatest Pakistani Fast Bowlers of all time
2). Bishan Singh Bedi
Former Indian captain and part of a famous spin quartet of India, Bishan Singh Bedi was one of the greatest slow left-arm orthodox bowlers in India. He was a vocal critic and always kept cricket spirit up more than the team win. In his career, he has taken a total of 266 test wickets in 67 test matches and 1560 wickets in first-class cricket matches, which are great numbers in themselves. His best match figures were 10/194 in Perth, which is considered a heaven for pacers against Australia. He was also the coach of the Indian cricket team. Bishan Singh Bedi is always remembered for his skillful impact spin bowling and strong and bold opinions.
3). Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin is the modern-day most dependable and one of Greatest Indian Spinners in India. Ashwin started his career by making a first-class debut for Tamil Nadu in 2006. After his exceptional performance in the IPL, he got selected for the Indian team for limited-over formats. He made his test debut in 2011 and took five-wicket hauls on his debut. He is one of the most efficient bowlers in today’s time, whether we see limited-over formats or long-test formats. Ravi started his career mainly as a spin bowler, but later he came to be recognized as a test all-rounder. He has made five centuries in test cricket. He is only one of the three players who have scored 3000 runs and 450 wickets in test matches. Ashwin has also taken 151 wickets in ODI and 72 wickets in t20s. Ash knows several variations in spin bowling, which helps him reach these greater heights.
4). Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh, also popularly known as Turbantor and Bhajji, was one of the finest and key off-spin bowlers of the Indian team. He has played many crucial roles for his team, whether it was the 2001 Test series against Australia in which he was the leading wicket-taker bowler, or the 2002 Champions Trophy. Harbhajan started his cricket career as a batsman but later became an off-spin bowler and the rest is history. He has minted over 417 test wickets and become the first Indian off-spinner to take 400 wickets. He was also the first Indian to use the test hat trick. Also Read: MS Dhoni Centuries Outside India and Asia
5). Subhash Gupte
Subhash Gupte was one of the best and finest spin bowlers in test cricket. He was the first Indian to take a 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Gupte was a right-arm leg-break bowler. He was known for his sharp turns. Subhash made his debut in 1951/52 and became the leading Indian spinner just in a short time due to his sharp, effective spin bowling. He was nicknamed Fergie after West Indies leg spinner Wilfred Ferguson. Gupte was known for his googlies because they were very deceptive, which confused the batsman. He has taken 149 wickets in 36 tests, which is quite enough to justify his exceptional spin talent.
6). Bhagwat Chandrashekhar
Bhagwat Chandrashekhar is the former leg spinner of the Indian cricket team and was considered among the top-tier leg spinners. He was part of the famous spin quartet along with Bishan Singh Bedi and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan. He also won the Padamshri Wisdom Award for the best bowling performance of the century. Chandrashekhar’s journey from getting attacked by polio at the age of 6 to becoming one of the greatest spinners in India is like a fairytale story, but his sheer determination and love for cricket made him such a great spinner. He has taken 242 test wickets in 58 test matches. and has taken 1,000 first-class wickets.
7). S Venkataraghavan Srinivasaraghavan
Venkataraghavan is part of the famous spin quartet that dominated spin bowling during the 1960s and 1970s. He was a right-arm-off break bowler and lower-order batsman. He was India’s former captain, and has represented India in the first two ICC World Cups. Srinivasaraghavan was one of the fittest all-round bowlers of his time. He made his debut against New Zealand at the age of 20 and took 12 wickets in a fourth-test match against New Zealand, leading to India’s victory. Having played 57 test matches, he has taken 156 wickets, including a 10-run haul. Also Read: BCCI Net Worth and Annual Income in 2024
8). Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja, also nicknamed Jaddu, is popularly known for his spin bowling, batting, and fielding. Jadeja is one of the best fielders and all-rounders that you could ever get. He is among the few players to play for India in all three formats. He made his debut with the Indian cricket team in 2009 and vice-captained the victorious Indian team at the U-19 cricket World Cup. Ravindra was the leading wicket-taker for India in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. A spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin is one of the major threats for SENA cricket teams. He has taken 275 wickets in tests, 220 wickets in ODIs, and 53 wickets in T20s. He is the second Indian cricketer to take 500 wickets and score 5,000 runs in international cricket.
9). Erapalli Prasanna
Erapalli Prasanna was a right-arm-off-break spin bowler and was part of a famous spin quartet. He was an engineer in his early days and then shifted his interest towards cricket. Prasanna achieved the record of first Indian bowler to get 100 wickets in just 20 test wickets. He was one of the greatest Indian spin bowlers. Erapalli Prasanna has taken over 189 wickets in 49 test matches, including 10 five-wicket hauls.
10). Vinoo Mankad
Mulvantrai Himmatlal Mankad, also known as Vinoo Mankad, was one of India’s greatest all-rounders and ranked at 10th in our list of Greatest Indian Spinners of all time. Vinoo was also the former captain of the Indian cricket team. He was an opening batsman and a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He played 44 test matches, in which he took 162 wickets and scored 2109 runs, including five test centuries. Against New Zealand at Madras in 1955–56, he scored 231, and P Roy put on 413 for the first wicket, which is itself a record for a test match. Also Read: IPL Net Worth and Annual Income in 2024