India faces a potential spin conundrum as the inevitable retirements of Test cricket greats Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin loom. While finding successors for Jadeja seems more straightforward, the scarcity of quality right-arm off-spinners in the domestic circuit poses a significant challenge for India’s spin department and it could hurt India soon.
Over the last decade, Ashwin and Jadeja’s contribution to India’s formidable subcontinent record was extraordinary, losing only two of 52 games at home since 2012. But now, Ashwin is 37, and Jadeja is 35, and team management would be eyeing to find some quality and like-to-like replacements because it’s highly unlikely that they will be around for more than one World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The pressing question arises: Is India prepared for life without their dynamic spin duo?
In Jadeja’s case, the answer is yes. There is Axar Patel, who has proved his mettle at the highest level but hasn’t played any game outside India yet, while there are a few names with the almost same skill set at the domestic level such as Saurabh Kumar, Shams Mulani, R Sai Kishore, Kumar Kartikeya, Shahbaz Ahmed, Abid Mushtaq, and Manav Suthar.
However, things get worse when you start identifying a quality off-spinner. Let’s be fair and say, currently, India doesn’t have a single ready-to-go replacement for Ashwin. Yes, there are Jalaj Saxena, K Gowtham, Jayant Yadav and Akshay Wakhare who have excelled in domestic cricket, producing exceptional numbers, but all of them age above 33, raising concern for long-term viability. Washington Sundar, who has been impressive with the bat, didn’t look threatening with the ball, in all the four Tests he played at the international level. Meanwhile, young rising stars such as Saransh Jain, Pulkit Narang and Tanush Kotian lack experience for India A yet.
Among all the left-arm spinners India has in their arsenal, the 29-year-old Axar will be the frontrunner for the No. 6/7 spot once Jadeja hangs up his boots. Uttar Pradesh’s Saurabh, who received a call-up for a Test series against Sri Lanka in 2022, has been one of the leading wicket-takers in the last two-three years in domestic cricket and also has outstanding numbers for India A, taking 28 wickets in six games @ 21.5.
Saurabh is no mug with the bat either, averaging 27.1 in first-class cricket, but Mumbai’s Shams Mulani boasts both, batting and bowling consistently in the Ranji Trophy. He averages 32.43 with the bat and has claimed 180 wickets in 38 matches @ 23.23. In red-ball cricket since 2020, Ashwin is the only Indian bowler to take more wickets than Mulani.
Shahbaz Ahmed is one more option India can explore. His batting has improved even more since 2022, with him averaging 42.97 in 30 first-class encounters. These are some of the serious contenders, but there are many more options available in the domestic circuit.
One more potential solution is Manav Suthar, who was part of the India A squad for the emerging Asia Cup 2023, which is another name you will be hearing a lot about in the future.
Let’s talk about the real problem: who is India’s next off-spinner? Saxena, Rasool and Gowtham have been the most successful off-spinners in first-class cricket since 2020, while Jayant Yadav and Wakhare have also produced decent numbers, but none of them are for the future as the age is going against them.
Services of Narang and Madhya Pradesh’s Saransh are two names the selectors would be closely monitoring. The latter made his FC debut in 2014 but has only become a consistent member in the last two years. The 30-year-old has 96 wickets at an average of 25.4 in this period, while Narang has 99 @ 27.2. There’s not much to pick from, but the problem remains the same. The concern persists if Ashwin prolongs his career for another two years.
However, If India does any strategic change, India can go with someone like Washington or Kotian in the top seven and then play a wrist-spinner, providing variety and depth in the batting lineup, especially in home conditions. Kotian has only featured in 26 first-class games for Mumbai, averaging 42.66 with the bat and 26.38 with the ball. But again he is yet to play enough to get into the India A set-up. Hence, the obvious pick, as of now, would be Washington, who averages 66.25 in six innings, studded with three fifties including his heroics innings on the bouncy surface in Brisbane, Australia.
Kuldeep would still be India’s first pick if the selectors go around looking for a wrist spinner with no wrist spinner near him at the moment to seal his spot after the spin twin. The chinaman played a lot of red-ball cricket in 2018 and 2019 and even played five games for India in this year's series against England at home. He emerged as India's second-best spinner of the series with 19 wickets and handy 97 runs.
While time remains before Ashwin and Jadeja bid farewell to Test cricket, management must diligently prepare replacements, especially for the irreplaceable Ashwin. India has a dominating record at home, but it will be hard to sustain it if they fail to find the right replacement for Ashwin.
