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India vs Australia, 2nd Test at Brisbane: Why India should go in with four fast bowlers

Karn missed out on being the first Indian to concede 100 runs in each innings on Test debut.

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© Getty Images
Karn Sharma looked far from threatening at Adelaide Oval, but the other Indian spinners have been no good either © Getty Images

Karn Sharma had a forgettable debut at Adelaide Oval, successfully breaking dubious records (and coming close to breaking a few more) for conceding most runs on Test debut. However, the other spin options India have are no world-beaters either. Abhishek Mukherjee ponders.

There have been confusions regarding Karn Sharma’s inclusion in the squad in the first place. Though he had been picked almost out of the blue, most would have expected Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja as the frontline spinner at Adelaide Oval. Thus, when the Indians woke up at five in the morning to see Virat Kohli announce the team, they were probably astounded to learn that Karn had been included.

One should blame the selection more than poor Karn, who was obviously not prepared for a debut against Australia at the highest level. He marginally missed out on being the first Indian (and eighth bowler) to concede 100 runs in each innings on Test debut, and is fifth on the list (“topper” among Indians) of most runs conceded in a Test on debut.

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But really, what options did Kohli have? Ashwin? Jadeja? Someone else? Were they really better options? Have they really done anything of note overseas? Let us find out how Indian spinners have done overseas over the past five years:

Overseas performances of Indian spinners in past five years (barring in Zimbabwe and Bangladesh)

Players M W Ave SR Econ
Harbhajan Singh 8 30 43.80 84.0 3.13
Ravindra Jadeja 7 18 46.17 102.4 2.70
Ravichandran Ashwin 6 12 64.50 122.8 3.15
Amit Mishra 3 11 56.36 91.2 3.71
Pragyan Ojha 8 8 64.38 123.0 3.14
Virender Sehwag 12 8 43.75 80.5 3.26
Suresh Raina 10 7 58.29 90.4 3.87
Karn Sharma 1 4 59.50 73.5 4.86
Rohit Sharma 6 2 93.50 158.0 3.55
Sachin Tendulkar 14 1 94.00 114.0 4.95
Murali Vijay 16 1 91.00 180.0 3.03
Yuvraj Singh 2 1 52.00 72.0 4.33
Total   103 53.37 98.2 3.26
Specialists*   83 51.71 97.8 3.17
* Harbhajan, Jadeja, Ashwin, Mishra, Ojha, and Karn

Every single Indian spinner averages on the wrong side of 40. There is not a single exception. In fact, Virender Sehwag has a better bowling average than others. As a result the overall average shoots up to over 50. Even if we take the part-timers away (though Sehwag has done better than all of them) the average improves only marginally.

How have the other teams featured in the same time-span? Let us see.

Overseas performances of all spinners in past five overs (barring in Zimbabwe and Bangladesh)

Team Bowlers W Ave SR Econ
Pakistan 16 126 33.38 70.8 2.83
England 9 116 38.04 77.5 2.94
Australia 14 103 39.28 73.5 3.21
Sri Lanka 7 43 40.93 83.7 2.94
New Zealand 9 70 44.16 81.8 3.24
West Indies 16 65 44.42 80.7 3.30
India 18 103 53.37 98.2 3.26
Zimbabwe 9 8 54.13 87.8 3.70
South Africa 11 47 55.79 95.5 3.51
Bangladesh 12 38 59.61 106.1 3.37

That is certainly not good news. Of major sides, only South Africans have a worse average; and even their spinners take wickets more frequently (one every 95.5 balls compared to India’s 98.2). New Zealand and West Indies, who are traditionally not homelands for spinners, have done better than Indians.

Let us now do a check for fast bowlers.

Overseas performances of all fast bowlers in past five overs (barring in Zimbabwe and Bangladesh)

Team Bowlers W Ave SR Econ
South Africa 10 203 27.78 54.2 3.08
Australia 19 275 29.99 61.4 2.93
New Zealand 16 175 32.87 62.4 3.16
Pakistan 15 156 33.95 61.3 3.32
England 14 233 34.21 63.8 3.21
India 18 252 41.56 70.1 3.56
Zimbabwe 8 17 42.12 75.2 3.36
West Indies 14 98 44.45 71.4 3.74
Sri Lanka 13 89 49.61 78.5 3.79
Bangladesh 7 34 61.00 97.2 3.77

This is nowhere impressive (though 41 is a better figure than 53), but at least India are above two major teams (though the chasm with the top five is substantially high). But where do Indian pacers stand in comparison with their spinners? Let us compare the spin vs pace performances of all teams.

Comparative study: Spin vs pace overseas performances in past five years (barring in Zimbabwe and Bangladesh)

Team Pace Spin Ave (Pace-Spin) SR (Pace-Spin)
Ave SR Ave SR
South Africa 27.78 54.2 55.79 95.5 -28.00 -41.3
Zimbabwe 42.12 75.2 54.13 87.8 -12.01 -12.6
India 41.56 70.1 53.37 98.2 -11.81 -28.1
New Zealand 32.87 62.4 44.16 81.8 -11.29 -19.4
Australia 29.99 61.4 39.28 73.5 -9.29 -12.1
England 34.21 63.8 38.04 77.5 -3.84 -13.7
West Indies 44.45 71.4 44.42 80.7 0.03 -9.4
Pakistan 33.95 61.3 33.38 70.8 0.57 -9.5
Bangladesh 61.00 97.2 59.61 106.1 1.39 -8.9
Sri Lanka 49.61 78.5 40.93 83.7 8.68 -5.2

It is a no-brainer. Even if the differences in averages are ignored, the differences in strike rates are humongous. Indian pacers take a wicket every 70 balls whereas the spinners do in 98. The difference is next to only South Africa’s, and there are no pretentions about their ability to produce quality pacers and inability to produce quality spinners.

It should be an obvious decision for the Indian team management. They should go in with four fast bowlers. If there is any doubt, let us look at the pace vs spin comparisons at The Gabba.

Comparative study: Spin vs pace overseas performances at The Gabba

Team Pace Spin
Ave SR Ave SR
All 29.93 63.1 38.53 92.6
Overseas bowlers 36.56 72.2 52.60 120.3
Past 5 years 39.27 74.3 46.48 88.1
Overseas bowlers, past 5 years 47.14 81.7 87.71 154.2

There is no comparison. The numbers do not even come close. The Brisbane “sticky dog” may have favoured spinners in the era of uncovered wickets, but of late spinners have not done anything of note at The Gabba. There is absolutely no reason for India to include a spinner in the side.

(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor and Cricket Historian at CricketCountry. He blogs here and can be followed on Twitter here)

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