Once upon a time, India’s conveyor belt of spin-craft churned out unrivalled amounts of technicians. So prolific, they used to jump off the shopping shelves quicker than a Nintendo Wii.
Brought up watching the likes of Bisham Bedi, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, students of spin bowling weren’t just interested in how the great Bedi orchestrated the revelations or switched between deliveries - the critic at the other end was equally as crucial.
Nowadays, in the era of all-action Twenty20 cricket, India’s pace and attitude towards spin has visibly changed. No longer dedicated and driven by subterfuge, guts and manual labour, the brisk path to stardom has overtaken the desire for courage.
Observing the way Messrs
Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman & Co capitulated to the two Sri-Lankan artists Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis in the first Test, sounded the alarm bells. Have India given up on spin?
Whether through a lack of preparation against top-quality bowling or just following the wicked way of the cricketing world, India’s batsmen were intent on pursuing the aggressive line, charming the viewers and entertaining the billionaires with million-dollar cricket shots.
Even if India had reserved a third or fourth innings, they still wouldn’t have surpassed the 239 needed to make Sri-Lanka bat again.
Fine, Anil Kumble is not what he once was - he is pushing on - relying too heavily on his change of pace, and Harbhajan Singh’s form fluctuates like the British weather, but where is the next Kumble? This is a country with no historical issues of chucking a 17-year-old leggie in at the deep end.
Patience was once a virtue associated with cricket. Harbouring your wicket through tiring tribulations and tortuous battles with expert bowlers such as Shane Warne was a victory in itself.
India’s batsmen displayed as much courage as a playground bully against Murali and Mendis, merely chasing titles on the sixes league, practicing for the next Twenty20 cup, or worse still, the pot of gold at the end of cricket’s cash-ready rainbow.
Should we be concerned?