India would always carry a rich legacy in the department of spin bowling. Once India’s spin quartet—comprising of Bedi, Prasanna, Chandra, and Venkataraghavan— was considered as the terror of spin bowling across the world. Later, Dilip Doshi, Shivlal Yadav, Maninder Singh, and Sivaramakrishnan exhibited their class and ruled through the 80s. In the 90s, the trio of Raju, Rajesh Chauhan, and Kumble did wonders, and then the bowling of top-quality off-spinners like Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin was witnessed by the whole world.
The leg-spin balls of Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla have also reigned briefly in the middle. However, nowadays, there has been a dearth of these spinners in the country, especially in white-ball cricket. In the three-match ODI series played against England, Indian spinners got only one wicket while conceding 312 runs. In the second ODI, the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya gave away 156 runs in 16 overs without scalping a single wicket, and Kuldeep Yadav conceded 8 sixers in that match.
Washington Sundar was once a very economical bowler in T20 cricket, but recently he has proved to be quite expensive. Likewise, Yazuvendra Chahal is no longer as effective. Chahal and Yadav would scare the batsmen with their talismanic spinning abilities.
Could it be a better option to play Ravichandran Ashwin in white-ball cricket amid the current circumstances? Ashwin is a player who has been consistently bowling well in the IPL, and who bowls deadly off-spin and carrom balls keeping in mind the change of pace. Ashwin reads the weakness of the batsman well, and his arm balls and dip balls have proved to be dangerous. Undoubtedly, Ashwin India’s biggest match-winner in Test cricket.
During one of the press conferences, skipper Virat Kohli was infuriated by the question as to why Ashwin was not being selected in white-ball cricket. He said that if Washington Sundar flops in the entire season, only then can something be thought of in this direction. Washington Sundar, nevertheless, is no longer an effective bowler.
Is there any spinner left who can stop the quality batsmen in white-ball cricket? Therefore, without delay, Ashwin should be given a chance at least in ODIs.