The Indian team has now set its focus on the future after the completion of the highly exhaustive ICC World Cup 2019. With events like the ICC Test Championship and ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 on the horizon, the Men in Blue have started to phase out some of the players who were relied upon in the lead up to the World Cup.
Any team win matches only thanks to its bowlers. They need to pick all 20 wickets in a Test or 10 in ODIs and T20Is keeping the opposition from reaching the target. Majorly, we are talking about the spinners as they have been at the forefront of bringing victories to their respective teams. Given that the Indian team has relied on Ashwin and Jadeja for a long period of time now, it’s the right time to inject some fresher talent which the opposition has not studied a lot about.
For the same reason, Team COC presents to you the 5 spinners who must be invested in by the Indian team management for the future.
RAHUL CHAHAR Rahul Chahar was instrumental in Mumbai Indians winning their fourth IPL title in 2019, as he kept the runs low in the middle overs and chipped in with important wickets. Chahar has been one of the best young leg-spinners around in Indian domestic cricket.
Also, it has been a long time since India has had a full-time leg-spinner in their ranks. Chahar has a young domestic career so far, having 63 wickets in 14 FC matches, 44 wickets in 25 List A matches and 27 wickets in 26 T20 matches. He will hopefully be seen in India colors on the upcoming West Indies tour and an impressive showing will have him in contention for upcoming home matches.
MAYANK MARKANDE
Mayank Markande was the star that performed amazingly well for MI in IPL 2018. The 21-year-old had made his T20I debut for India against Australia, but still has a long way to go. He too has had a short career in domestic cricket so far, scalping 104 wickets in 57 matches in domestic cricket so far. Markande, if given a chance during the upcoming international home series, will definitely make his country proud, as he is extremely confident for his age and has shown glimpses of brilliance in IPL.
JALAJ SAXENA
Jalaj Saxena has been knocking on the doors of selectors for a long time. In 111 FC matches, he has picked 298 wickets and made 6025 runs with 14 centuries and best bowling of 16/154. He also has 96 wickets in 85 List A matches and 41 wickets in 48 T20 matches.
Saxena has also made very good appearances for India A as well but has never been able to move ahead from that. He was the leading run-scorer for Kerala in the group-stage of the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy, with 479 runs in seven matches. He is a deserving candidate for atleast one chance in India colors to show what he can do.
SHAHBAZ NADEEM
Shahbaz Nadeem has been doing everything he can to earn a call-up to the India team and he achieved that but didn’t get to play a game against West Indies in 2018. He has been the highest wicket-taker in domestic cricket for past 2-3 years and even has a world record bowling figures of 8/10 in List A cricket.
Nadeem has been part of SRH and DC teams in IPL and has done immensely well for the India A teams all over the world, picking lots of wickets, and is waiting to do his magic on the international stage. He has 411 wickets in 107 FC matches, 143 wickets in 98 List A matches and 98 wickets in 117 T20 matches.
SHREYAS GOPAL
Karnataka’s leg-spinning all-rounder Shreyas Gopal was one of the highest wicket-takers in IPL 2019, which featured a hat-trick comprising of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Marcus Stoinis. Gopal has surely made the selectors notice him and his skills with the ball. The 25-year-old has 184 wickets in 56 FC matches, while he has 110 wickets with the white ball in domestic cricket.
Given that India is looking for an all-rounder who is also a quality bowler as the regulars in Ashwin and Jadeja also require a backup in case of injuries, Shreyas might be the right choice to come and fill that gap and with a good home series coming up, he might finally get that chance to wear the India colors.