A few weeks ago, Indian captain Sourav Ganguly warned the Australians -- 'Prepare for a tough series and be ready to play on spinning wickets.' His remarks created quite a buzz in the media, with opinions divided as to what the Indian strategy should be. The noises intensified with the news that Anil Kumble, our one world-class spinner, would not be fit for the series.

The general reaction was that the Australians had better spinners than us, and this would be playing into their hands. Which throws up an interesting questions: what's happened to the art of spin bowling in a country that gave the world the famed spin quartet of Bishen Bedi, B S Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and S Venkataraghavan, and, more recently, Anil Kumble? Why this sudden dearth of quality tweakers? Why couldn't we bowl Zimbabwe out in more than 160 overs on a turning track in Nagpur?

We, at rediff.com, are attempting to find some answers to these questions. In light of Ganguly's comments and the upcoming Australian tour -- which has huge significance for both teams, as Australia views winning in India as the ultimate validation of its greatness, and India goes out to defend its 31-year-old record of not losing at home to the Aussies - we will also be appraising some of the current contenders for spinners' places in the national team.

We begin with a conversation Roshan Paul had with arguably the greatest left-arm spin bowler ever to grace a cricket ground: Bishen Singh Bedi.

Said Bedi: "The fundamental problem is not the lack of quality bowlers but the lack of quality in the way they are handled. Indian captains of the present era have not understood the 'psychology of spin'.

"As soon as a spin bowler gets lofted a few times, the captain either takes him off the attack or instructs him to bowl flatter. A spinner shouldn't have to bowl against his own captain as well as against the opposition. Unfortunately, that seems to be the case today as the captain and selectors tend to pick a mediocre seamer over a promising spinner."

Reacting to Ganguly's comment that Australia will be confronted by turning tracks, the former great said: "It was silly for him to say that he has control over the wickets. We shouldn't worry about turning tracks but instead concentrate on preparing good wickets, as these will start to break up on the fourth day.

"And what's the use of turning tracks that don't bounce? The ball was turning square against the Zimbabweans [at Nagpur] but without bounce, they were easily able to survive."

Turning tracks shouldn't be an issue, opined Bedi. According to him, the 'Spin Quartet' got as many wickets away from home as they did at home, something that Anil Kumble has conspicuously failed to do.

However, Bedi said, unlike today, the captains then had faith in the spinners. "Tiger Pataudi was outstanding in his treatment of the spinners and so was Ajit Wadekar. It is crucial for the captain to have faith in his spinners for no spinner can bowl a side out in 2 overs.

"Yet, a spinner must also know that he is always in the game, for he can be brought on any time. Spinners must always have something up their sleeve; they must use their head and encourage the batsman to attack them. Ideally, they should toss it up but keep at least three close-in fielders. All of this revolves around the psychology of spin, which seems to have been forgotten today."

The great Sardar also said that he has confidence in the ability of India's current crop of spinners. However, he felt they lack the confidence of the captain, who's attitude is vital.

Asked his opinion about some of the top spinners in the country, Bedi was pretty direct.

On Sunil Joshi: He is a complete bowler, with an ideal temperament. I know that he doesn't like bowling in one-day games, but since he does that so often, he tends to take that mentality into Test matches. The 'policy of containment' of the one-day game is being taken into the Test arena, which doesn't help the art of spin bowling. An in the final analysis, the best way to contain a batsman is to get him out, isn't it?

On Murali Karthik: This lad is an outstanding prospect but he lacks the confidence of the skipper. The captain tells him to bowl into the rough, which is detrimental because he must have faith in his own ability to outthink the batsman. He shouldn't have to worry about some aspect of the pitch. Also, Karthik tends to get ruffled when he is hit.

On Sharandeep Singh: He is a promising young spinner with a good temperament.

Bedi declined to comment on Harbhajan Singh or his chances of making a comeback to the national team.

At this point, I was preparing to wrap up the interview when the Sardar said, "You know who is bowling very well these days?" I queried and he replied, "Rahul Sanghvi. Sanghvi is not afraid of being hit and is a new bowler these days. Unfortunately, selectors go by results in domestic cricket. Figures are misleading; they should gauge the attitude of the player instead."

Bedi then went on to talk about the mismanagement of domestic cricket. He said we should play down the results of North Zone in the Duleep Trophy because they were the only side at full strength. West and South Zone especially had chosen to rest some of their main players.

Furthermore, he said, there is little incentive to attack in domestic cricket today, and that is another reason for our lack of class bowlers. The main problem is the points system. At present, there is only a three-point difference between a first innings lead and an outright win. Instead, there should be a 20-point difference, for this will give both captians and bowlers the necessary motivation to attack the batsmen.

And thus ended the conversation. It was quite clear in Bedi's comments that the problem is not with the spinners themselves but with the way they are being handled by the Indian team management.

This is definitely food for thought for Ganguly and co. as they plot strategy against the all-conquering Aussies.

Keep watching this space for more on the plight of Indian spin bowling.

Interviews

Mail Cricket Editor