From Bishan Bedi to R Ashwin: How India spinners have performed in overseas Tests

While the trio of Bishan Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna and Bhagwath Chandrasekhar have been prolific in SENA countries, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja's numbers aren't as impressive as their predecessors.

HIGHLIGHTS

• R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja take more than 80 balls on an average to strike in SENA countries
• Anil Kumble leads the list of wicket-takers in foreign Tests, including SENA countries
• Chandrasekhar and Prasanna have the best strike rates for Indian spinners in SENA Tests

As much as India are known for producing some of the batting greats of world cricket, their riches in the spin-bowling department have been unparalleled.

Before the Kapil Devs and the Madan Lals gave Indian cricket a new direction with their pace bowling performances, India were a side heavily reliant on their spin bowlers. Under former captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, a quartet of spinners in Bishan Bedi, Chandrashekar, Erapalli Prasanna and Venkat Raghavan led India to some of the most memorable wins.

In fact, India’s first-ever Test series win in New Zealand and memorable series wins in England came between 1967 and 1971 with some remarkable performances from the famous spin quartet.

Over the years, India have produced some of the legendary names in spin bowling. Leg-spinner Anil Kumble is regarded as one of the best bowlers to have played the sport. Harbhajan Singh turned out to be a match-winner for India for more than a decade. R Ashwin is among the modern-day masters of the game. Ravindra Jadeja’s ascendancy to one of India’s best spinners has been crucial to their success in the longest format of the game.

When it comes to assessing the match-winning impact of spinners, their away performances is a key attribute. On subcontinent pitches, Indian spinners have made light work of opposition batsmen, more often than not.

While it is nearly impossible to compare the impact that these top-quality Indian spinners have had over the years, considering the evolution in quality of pitches, size of bats and technique of batsmen among other factors, numbers can give us a picture of their impact to the side in their respective eras.

Indiatoday.in looks at how big names in India’s famous spin department have performed in overseas conditions over the years.

It’s no surprise that Anil Kumble tops the list of Indian spinners with most wickets in overseas conditions. The former India captain, who has 619 wickets overall, has picked up 269 of them away from home. Kumble picked up 10 5-wicket hauls and a 10-wicket haul overseas.

Harbhajan Singh holds the second spot in the list, having picked up 152 wickets in 48 matches with 7 5-wicket hauls and 10-wicket haul.

Bishan Singh Bedi (with 129 wickets in 37 matches), R Ashwin (111 in 28) and Baghwath Chandrasekhar (100 in 26) complete the top 5. Off-spin great Erapalli Prasana has 94 overseas Test wickets from 27 matches while all-rounder Ravi Shastri is in the top 10 with 78 wickets in 42 matches.

Ravindra Jadeja has picked up 56 wickets from 16 matches he has played overseas.

Overseas impact: Best strike rate for Indian spinners

When considering spinners with minimum 50 wickets overseas, R Ashwin has the best strike rate. The off-spinner has struck once in little over every 10 overs in overseas conditions (Strike rate of 63.3).

Chandrasekhar struck once in every 11 overs as he operated overseas with a strike rate of 67.7. Jadeja is not far behind as the left-arm spinner has struck once in every 12 overs (73.0 strike rate).

Anil Kumble's strike rate reads 74.5 -- meaning he was able to strike once in little more than 12 overs.

R Ashwin has an impressive average overseas as well.

Impact in SENA countries: R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja not among the elite

The impact of Indian spinners in some of the toughest overseas conditions (South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia) is among the most-discussed topics in Indian cricket. In recent times, Indian spinners have played the holding role and provided breathers to the battery of pacers in overseas conditions but it has not been the case always.

The quartet of Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar and Venkataraghavan played crucial roles in India’s overseas wins in England and New Zealand under captain Patuadi.

Kumble played a key role in India's famous Test series win in England in 2007 as he picked up 14 wickets. Unlike his successors, Kumble has enjoyed bowling in Australia. The legendary leg-spinner took 24 wickets in 2003-04 drawn series and 20 in the controversial 2007-08 series Down Under.

Ashwin, Jadeja among Indian spinners (min 30 wickets) with lowest strike rate in SENA

India have a new quartet now. It’s their pace quartet of Ishant sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav that has been leading them to improved results in overseas Tests. At the same time, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja haven’t been able to have the same impact that their predecessors had in SENA.

Chandrasekhar and Prasanna seem to have had a big impact in SENA countries. While the former had managed to pick up a wicket once in every 70 balls the latter did it once in every 74 balls (73.9).

On the other hand, R Ashwin has taken 88 balls on an average to strike once while Jadeja has picked up a wicket every 86 balls once in SENA conditions.