Unarguably the greatest off-spinner from the subcontinent, Erapalli Prasanna was a scourge of the best of batsmen of his era. Ian Chappell, a master batsman against spinners, still goes gaga over the Indian and his high quality, versatile off-spin bowling. Of his 189 Test wickets, many were those of the most formidable batsmen from Australia, England and the West Indies .
Prasanna, Bishen Singh Bedi and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar had formed a deadly triumvirate and they were an excellent complement to one another. They would share most of the wickets among themselves. But for the fact Prasanna and S Venkataraghavan were contemporaries, he would have played many more Tests than just 49 he figured in.
But they were enough for him to stamp his class. Had he been playing today, he would easily have taken 500-odd wickets, considering the level of teams like Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the West Indies .
Genius is the term that immediately comes to mind when describing Prasanna. A courageous off-spinner, unafraid of flighting the ball even when bowling against a meagre total, Prasanna always kept the batsmen guessing with his variations and the loop. An artist with the ball, he was capable of making the red cherry do his bidding. It was a connoisseur's delight to watch him unfold his art and bamboozle the batsmen.
It is not surprising that Prasanna is unhappy with the state of spin bowling as well as the crop of spinners in India. Indian cricket's living legend spoke to Haresh Pandya about the team's chances on the tour of England and spinners in general.
How are Team India's chances of winning the Test series in England?
We've good chances to win against England provided we bat well. Our batsmen, from top to lower order, will have to bat well. We've an experienced batting line-up. Most of our batsmen are in good form, too. But Test cricket is a different ball game altogether. So, every batsman will have to contribute substantially.
How do you rate the England team?
It appears good. The hosts have some very good bowlers who will test the Indian batsmen in the varied English conditions. England is always strong when playing at home. I think this is going to be a very close Test series.
How do you view the Indian bowlers?
Except Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan, we don't have experienced bowlers. And experience counts a lot when you are playing in England. We don't have the experienced bowlers to dominate the opposition.
From India's point of view, who do you think could be our trump card?
Kumble.
The selectors have dropped Harbhajan Singh and instead picked a relatively inexperienced off-spinner in Ramesh Powar. Do you agree with Powar's selection for the Test series?
They must have solid reasons for dropping Harbhajan. And we shouldn't underestimate Powar and his ability. He has been doing pretty well of late and I think he deserves what he has got.
He looks good and talented. He hasn't done badly so far. He has been getting opportunities. It means the selectors, too, have confidence in his ability. It should be interesting to see how he bowls in the Tests in the company of Kumble.
Why doesn't Team India play a left-arm spinner any more?
Where are the good left-arm spinners? I think this is one of the reasons why the selectors aren't picking any left-arm spinner. With Kumble taking so many wickets, we probably don't require any left-arm spinner.
But even when we had good left-arm spinners, the scenario was more or less the same
Well, you should be bold enough to play a left-arm spinner. You've to have full faith in his potential. A left-arm spinner lacking in quality usually proves to be a luxury for his team.
Are you happy with the young spinners in the country?
No. There aren't too many promising spinners around. Most of them lack the basics and aren't prepared to work hard and improve themselves.
How do you foresee the future of spinners in India?
It's very bleak, I'm afraid.
How do you find Piyush Chawla?
He seems to have the potential. He has got all the breaks at a very young age and very early in his life.
Do you think he has it in him to be somewhere near Kumble in terms of ability?
It's too early to say whether he'll be anywhere near Kumble. Let him play more and prove himself. He is too young. He has a lot to prove and improve.
Who is the best off-spinner in the world today?
There is no one around.
No one? Not even Muttiah Muralitharan?
No.