Wizards: The Story of Indian Spin Bowling is authored by Anindya Dutta.
An effective way of helping a professional grow across diverse diligences is by gaining an insight into the individuals they are, and by deducing a systematic plan applicable to the individual self. Wizards: The Story of Indian Spin Bowling by Anindya Dutta is a spinner’s chronicle of the heroes he grew up watching and then meeting them, talking to them, and now being in touch with them regularly, having built excellent relationships for life.
Courtesy Amazon.com
The blurb on the front page has the images of Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan and Anil Kumble. In between, there are thought-provoking, chronically researched chapters about spin bowlers from India. The back page blurb has the lines from Rohit Brijnath, “A rewarding journey through the history of Indian spin and a laudable addition to the library of Indian Cricket.”
Many a time and quite an often, we shudder to understand the best sportswriters are the ones who could not make themselves as sports players. I am a huge believer in that philosophy. In twenty-seven chapters spread across four sections, Anindya Dutta has proved why he is one of the best research-minded authors in sports journalism.
When a seasoned journalist like Rohit David Brijnath tells the lines mentioned earlier in italics, it should be clear about the substance the book contains. Kapil Dev, the greatest cricketer India has ever produced, wrote in the book’s Foreword: “Anindya’s book could not have come at a more appropriate time to remind us of the rich history of spin bowling in India, as the baton is passed on to the next generation. While I had, of course, heard about the bowling of Vinoo Mankad, Subhash Gupte, Salim Durrani, and the others who came before the four legends, I was taken aback at the depth of the research and the interesting stories about every spinner who ever played for India (and some who didn’t), so well narrated in this book. It is at the same time a treasure trove of information and a very entertaining read.”
Isn’t that a prolegomenon to the book? Isn’t it worth a review in itself?
As a fast bowler growing up, I always knew the final answer I would love to hear in cricket and bowling. The hero of my script and tale is Javagal Srinath. As part of my warm-up, I would bowl a few over of left-arm spin, run a few laps on the ground, and then become a psychopath (fast bowler). Growing up in a rural pocket of south India, a lot of my generation looked up to Muttiah Muralitharan for answers in the art of spin bowling.
Anindya Dutta
We respected the Indian spin quartet (Bishan Singh Bedi, Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Anantharao Srinivas Prasanna, and Srinavasaraghavan Venkaraghavan). The quartet played a combined 231 tests for India and scalped 853 wickets with 43 five-wicket inning hauls between them. The away successes against New Zealand, West Indies, and England in their backyards are my favorite bedtime stories growing up.
Chandrashekhar and Venkataraghavan are sorcerers at the dawn of day and gentlemen at the dusk of night. Erapalli Prasanna is a calm composure who represents Karnataka and India. A once lower-order batsman, Prasanna became more than a guiding force for many young talents. Bishan Bedi is his orator. In his demagogue-esque peculiarity, he elevates himself onto cricket’s important rostrum. An epicenter of morals and for mortals, Bedi is enviably simple and unputdownably complex. This book contains individual chapters dedicated to each one of them.
The book starts with Palwankar Baloo–The First Great Indian Spinner–snd then moves to Baloo’s successor Rustomji Jamshedji Dorabji Jamshedji, Cottari Subbana Nayudu, The First Indian Leg Spinner, Amritsar Govind Ram Singh, The Forgotten Sikh, and Amir Elahi. The author then tells the life of The Spin Trio – Bapu Nandkarni, Chandu Borde, and Salim Durani.
I am very sure, at the end of reading chapter one, you, as readers, would wish to come across the tragic and tearful tale of Subhash Gupte at the end of the book. The slumberous stillness of this summer’s noon submits me into jubilation with the plight and guile of Gupte – the greatest spinner, world cricket has failed to see him succeed in his chosen ‘art’ and ‘discipline.’
The spin quartet sits here in description (sorry, too excited and too biased, I spoke about them at the beginning). There’s a knee-jerking chapter on Unlucky Ones, The Lost Talents in Indian Cricket–Padmakar Shivalkar, Rajinder Goel, Sarkar Talwar, Syed Hyder Ali, Anand Shukla, and Rajinder Singh Hans. Of course, one would have loved to see a dedicated chapter on Rajinder Goel. How once an enviable flight would deceive a batsmen’s imagery for an uppish lofting was left disturbing his furniture.
I will try to control my emotions and tears in describing Anil Kumble, the greatest and biggest match-winner Indian cricket has ever produced.
A charming air of vigor and vitality,
An irrefutable genius and generosity,
A soul emblazoned by modesty,
Of graciousness and humility.
Dear Anil Kumble,
Life’s brick walls are not meant,
For keeping us (Indian Cricket) at bay in an unknown tent,
But, are all but to proffer us an opportunity and show,
How badly do we deserve something and owe?
We, as an aficionado and as a nation, looked for you in hope,
When our lives were out of the frying pan and going down a shabby slope,
But, thou as a man of matchless modesty and refinement,
Betokening a humble character made Indian Cricket triumphant.
I pray all for the emerald richness,
Thou, thy life and thy soul deserve.
The book ends with gasping questions at the end. Spinners Cannot Be Captains? so the author says.
The human in Anindya Dutta comes into the limelight at last. He pays his respects and acknowledges the kindness of some wonderful human beings in cricket and journalism. But none more special than Mrs. Anisha, the author’s queen, and wife, and the beautiful princess to both, daughter Olu.
Overall, Anindya Dutta does everything in his considerable artistic powers to accentuate the faculty and finesse of spin bowlers in Indian cricket’s emerald history.
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Read my interview with Anindya Dutta here.
