Why do Indians like to spin the ball?
One question became a recurring theme, for Amol Rajan, while he doing research for his book Twirlymen- The Unlikely History of Cricket’s Greatest Spin Bowlers - why do Indians like to spin
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
One question became a recurring theme, for Amol Rajan, while he doing research for his book Twirlymen- The Unlikely History of Cricket’s Greatest Spin Bowlers - why do Indians like to spin? How can it be that one nation produces no bowlers of genuinely express pace, but a conveyor belt of spinners of the calibre of Gupte, Bedi, Chandrasekhar, Prasanna, Venkataraghavan, Kumble, and Harbhajan, and all in the space of a few years? Here's more in the Open.
It is a complex interplay between cultural and natural factors. But above all, it is because the very essence of spin bowling is victory by deceptive means—and the intellectual agility at the core of that is in turn the very essence of Indian civilisation.
Akhila Ranganna is assistant editor (Audio) at ESPNcricinfo