Do we have someone in Jumbo’s shoes please?

You need not be 6 foot tall or a right arm leg spinner to replace him. What makes him special is his line and length. He bowls stump to stump, he has pace; and the line and length he bowls is consistent; he has the temperament to bowl long spells. He doesn’t spin the ball much. This has attributed to his success over the years. He was a new generation of spin in the 90’s when there was no legend in the dressing room to guide him (at least in the spin department). He was a refreshingly new talent but without much variety. He had that odd googly but apart from that he is not so special. That made people to take him for granted. Even when they understood his potential they felt difficult to handle him. He had that attitude to bowl tirelessly even when he doesn’t get much assistance from the pitch. That where he outplays everyone else (Including Bhajji).

If you have a close look, much of Harbhajan’s success came in Kumble’s playing days. After the retirement of him, Bhajji is just a pale shadow of himself. As experts say, spinners hunt in pairs. There was a good rapport between them. That was because, Jumbo was a selfless bowler. He sets the thing up for Bhajji to get wickets when he himself don’t get any wickets. They bowled in tandem.

It is not easy to replace any legend all of a sudden. When Sunny retired, it took another 15 years to find another good opener in Sehwag. So it will be in Kumble’s case. But I am surprised to see no one want someone in his place. No talks on the legend. Is that because we are traditionally spin bowlers and we can find another special talent? That will not be the case. Sometime you need to stick to the basics. Atleast in the longer format. Too many variations will cost us the match. That is what happened in the recent home series against England. And that is where you need someone like Kumble to set things up, make it difficult for the batsmen to score. The pressure will result in wicket, either your end or the other end. The young generation is now in a hurry for wicket and fame as well. Ashwin, dubbed to be the man for the future, fails in this aspect. He is yet to attain that maturity. I am not sure if the current bunch of players have the patience to watch a test match of 80’s and 90’s (especially between India and Pakistan, which will be draw most of the time and you can predict the result in the 3^rd day itself). That patience is missing in the modern days. There you need a man of Jumbo’s caliber to marshal the troops.

Having said that, I recently compare one man with the patience and skills of Kumble. I maybe to totally wrong or too early but if found right, you have to give it to me for this discovery. While I am writing this, he has taken his 2^nd wicket against Pakistan in the last edition of champion’s trophy. He was bought into the team as a spin bowling all rounder, failed in all aspects and c ritisised by everyone. Even Dhoni came under severe criticism but now it is paying off. Yes it is Sir Jaddu. Ok ok let me justify or try to defend myself first. I was a strong critic of him and his batting abilities (Still I am), but when it comes to bowling, I feel he is the best spinner in India at present. The stats will tell you. He is economical, doesn’t spin the ball much (odd ones turn) and that is his strength. He has a slower one and a quicker one. Bowls stump to stump as like the great jumbo. If you are not convinced yet, just go back to the India-Australia Hyderabad test. Just watch how he sets up Clarke for the wicket. I was convinced at that point. He is our man for a long term. He is now doing for India in the Champions trophy. Both with the bat and the ball. He has the temperament to bowl long spells. For me he is the man for the tournament against Australia. Without him, 4-0 would not be there (sure India would have won the series). This young lad has a long way to go!! For me he is the spinner to watch out for!!