Leg-spin bowling is becoming extinct: V V Kumar

Vaman Viswanath Kumar, fondly known as V V Kumar, may have stepped away from playing cricket nearly 50 years ago, but the sport has never left the Tamil Nadu leg-spin great.Kumar, who will celebrate his 90th birthday on Thursday, still breathes cricket: he tosses the ball as accurately as a present-day spinner would before his run-up, recites stats from yesteryear as if those matches happened in the recent past, keeps track of live action and stays associated with the sport by mentoring youngsters.

Kumar, a former India international with two Test appearances in 1961, was the linchpin of the Tamil Nadu (then Madras) bowling attack for two decades, picking up an astonishing 599 first-class wickets. During his 22-season-long domestic career, he formed a deadly spin combination with S Venkataraghavan, making Tamil Nadu contenders, although they could not achieve Ranji Trophy glory. In an interview with Shrivathsan S, he discusses his illustrious career and how leg-spin bowling is becoming a diminishing art.Excerpts:You turned out to be one of the leading Indian spinners of your time. When and how did you fall in love with leg-spin bowling?When I was in Class IX, I was intrigued by the game. However, playing cricket was not easy, as the equipment was expensive. I obtained a golf ball, which was sold for four annas (25 paise). My slow-bowling career was based on what I learned playing with a golf ball. Because it’s so small, it’s hard to grip and spin.

The depressions on its surface prevent it from turning the way it should, but it causes deviations. That idea stuck with me, and I thought, “Why not try the same with a bigger ball?” That’s how it all began.How has the art of leg-spin bowling changed over the years? Since 2008-2009, the theory and execution of leg-spin have been different. Leg-spin is becoming extinct. In white-ball cricket, especially T20 cricket, you are asked to contain rather than look for wickets.

If you do the same in Test cricket, you will be taken to the cleaners. At those times, the concept of leg-spin was different. It was about drawing the batter in, outsmarting him, and getting him out. If leg-spin bowling is to regain its old glory, it will take a considerable amount of time.

It can only be restored with Test cricket, nothing else.There was a certain thrill in watching a batter step out only to get back to the crease in confusion, unsure of what had just happened.

Moments like those were gratifying because you knew you’d outwitted him with sheer craft.Could you list some of your memorable dismissals?When I played for Prime Minister’s XI against Australia in Bengaluru in the 1960s, the visitors had Ian Redpath on their team. Even when I was bowling well outside the off-stump, he played the ball on the leg side. I then decided to pitch the ball outside leg-stump, forcing him to be locked to the crease.

I got him stumped because he was unable to move. The dismissal gave me great satisfaction. In my first Test against Pakistan in Delhi, Imtiaz Ahmed danced down the pitch only to see his off-stump disturbed.

I flighted the ball more compared to the previous deliveries in that over. It was one of the great dismissals of my career.Did you believe you could have played more international cricket?I had a wrist issue and was not 100% fit to play against England (at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai), but I was asked to.

I felt that it was not a risk I was supposed to take in a Test match, but I was told I would be able to adapt. I bowled defensively in the first innings and didn’t take a wicket. I was then told I was being held in reserve for the next match and not given an over in the second innings. The sacrifice of playing the Brabourne Test cost me my India career; that is what happens when you play for someone else.

But not playing another match for India did not deter me.

By making use of every opportunity I got, I established myself as one of the top spinners in the country. However, I did not get the recognition.You played in the same era as the famed spin quartet …Erapalli Prasanna, Bishan Singh Bedi, and Venkataraghavan were already top-class, while B S Chandrasekhar was still finding his footing. He was raw in the early days but had great potential. ‘Tiger’ (Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi) had the trump card in Chandra, while Pras is the greatest off-spinner I have ever seen.

In situations that were not conducive for India to win, it was Chandra who did the job for the team. No batter could master Chandra.

The spin quartet under Tiger made India a force to be reckoned with in Test-match cricket.What do you make of the current Tamil Nadu senior men’s set-up?I have been following their matches (Ranji Trophy). The players have to change their mindset to a great extent. I have seen batters play inappropriate strokes to balls, including bad ones.

In the bowling department, they cannot rely on just one bowler. Another issue is a lack of consistency. By the time you reach the knockouts, you need to have built that rhythm. You should be going in with the mindset, ‘I’m just as good as you; let’s see what happens’.

But I feel that confidence is missing when they face strong teams.How impressed were you with ace offie Ravichandran Ashwin?He is a great bowler, but I cannot compare him to anyone else. To get into the bracket of highest wicket-takers as an off-spinner is a recognition in itself. He is great in his own way.