Last Updated:
Shastri ignored R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Harbhajan Singh’s names when he was asked to pick his top-three Indian spinners of all time.
Ravi Shastri picks India’s top-three spinners of all time. (Picture Credit: AP, PTI)
Former Indian captain and head coach Ravi Shastri, who is in Australia these days to do commentary in the ongoing five-match Test series between India and Australia, ignored Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Harbhajan Singh when he asked to name his top-three Indian spinners of all time.
Ashwin is India’s second-leading wicket-taker in Test as well as international cricket. In 105 Tests played so far since making his debut for India in 2011, Ashwin has dismissed 536 batters. On the other hand, Harbhajan finished his Test career with 417 wickets in 103 matches, and Jadeja has accounted for the dismissal of 319 batters in 77 five-day matches played so far.
During a Fox Sports show, when Shastri, who was a member of India’s 1983 ODI World Cup-winning team, was asked about his top-three Indian spinners, he mentioned Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, and Anil Kumble’s names.
Explaining the reason behind picking Bedi, Prasanna, and Kumble as his top-three Indian spinners, Shastri said, “I’ll say the one I’ve seen the latest. That’s why I put a three. It has to be Anil Kumble. He was lethal, especially in our conditions. He was relentless. He was a competitor. It was not just bowling in India. He would bowl his heart out wherever he played across the globe. And to take over 600 wickets is no mean achievement.”
“No. 2 spinner has to be Prasanna. I saw him towards the end of his career. But then, you know, he came out even as manager of the team to Australia, and he would bowl a lot in the nets. The deception that he had—he could make the ball drop, he could hold it back at any stage—bowled some great lines. He bowled in the nets and would get all the top guys out because he had this ability. He had this floater, which was like a backspin delivery, not the doosra. So, it was like with his hands, he would flick it backwards, come backwards in pitch, and then leave the bat, you know, and get the off stumps.”
“No. 1 has to be Bishan (Bedi). No question, poetry in motion. That kind of action you’ll give anything for,” he added.
Bedi, who also served as India’s captain in the 1970s, finished his Test career with 266 wickets in 67 matches, and Prasanna dismissed 189 batters in 49 Tests. Kumble, on the other hand, got rid of 619 batters in 132 Tests, which is the most by an Indian.
