New Delhi: Ravichandran Ashwin has retired. Ravindra Jadeja A brilliant career is coming to an end. Axar Patel has lost his bite, Kuldeep Yadav has lost his magic, Varun Chakravarthy has lost his mystique, and washington sundar A ball-handler at best. India’s famed textile factories are showing worrying signs of depletion, with cupboards suddenly looking alarmingly empty. When looking for a wicket bowler, there are few compelling options. Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi was selected as Varun Chakravarthy’s replacement for the tour of Zimbabwe despite hitting 3 no-balls in the second T20I against England and being dropped for the rest of the game.The 33-year-old Madhya Pradesh off-spinner raised eyebrows when the selectors picked him Saransh Jain And Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner Zeeshan AnsariHe had not played a first-class match in six years when India A was on tour against Sri Lanka.times of india.com can confirm that Jain earned his selection after impressing the former India spinner Harbhajan Singh During the Expert Training Camp for Emerging Non-Textile Traders held at BCCI Center of Excellence in March. Zeshank, meanwhile, has caught the attention of head coach Gautam Gambhir in Chandigarh where he is one of the seven bowlers in India’s squad ahead of the one-off Test against Afghanistan. India’s spin sector has few proven options and its scale looks worryingly weak.The collapse of Ireland and EnglandIndia’s 6-0 defeat in the T20I series between Ireland and England set off a wake-up call for the team’s performance.In T20 cricket, overs seven to fifteen are often described as the tactical heart of the game. This is where a quality spin attack destroys partnerships, reduces the scoring rate and forces batsmen to make mistakes. The performance of Indian spinners has been inconsistent in recent weeks.
India’s Axar Patel reacts after being hit for a six during the first IT20 match between Ireland and India at Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast, Northern Ireland on June 26, 2026.
In the first T20I against Ireland, the hosts fell to 51 for 4 in 7.1 overs. What followed was a stand-off of 64 runs between Lorcan Tucker and Gareth Delany in just 44 balls, completely changing the dynamics of the innings. India controlled just one wicket between 7 and 15 overs and at this stage the spinners needed to squeeze runs and pick up wickets. Axar Patel ended up with 2 for 33, but both of his wickets came in the 18th and 20th overs, long after Ireland’s rebuilding. Meanwhile, Washington Sundar further eased the pressure by conceding 19 runs.The second T20I followed a similar template. Ireland were reduced to 48 for 3 in 7.3 overs, but Harry Turktow and Ben Kallitz added 65 runs in 43 balls for the fourth wicket. Axar Patel, India’s only specialist spinner in the tournament, took 0 for 28 in four overs but failed to find the much-needed breakthrough for India.England carried out the plan even more ruthlessly. In the second T20I, England lost 51 for 3 in 4.4 overs. Once again India failed to capitalize on this. Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton combined to score 67 runs off 50 balls to take away the match.
India’s Varun Chakravarthy attempts a catch
India’s spin trio of Ravi Bishnoi (60 for 0), Axar Patel (20 for 1) and Varun Chakravarty (37 for 1) conceded 117 runs in a total of 12 overs while controlling just two wickets. More tellingly, India managed to pick up just one wicket between the seventh and 15th overs, leaving England to dominate the middle stages.The third T20I offers only minor improvements. India took 3 wickets between 7 and 15 overs, but none came through spin. Axar Patel (1 for 49) and Varun Chakravarty (0 for 35) took just one wicket in seven overs and even then, this was beyond the crucial rebuilding phase.By the fourth T20I, England had little need to negotiate the midfield. Chasing a modest target, they ended the match with 13.5 overs, rendering India’s spin attack largely irrelevant. Axar Patel (0 for 24) and Washington Sundar (0 for 19) were wicketless, conceding 43 runs in just three overs.The fifth T20I was perhaps the most shocking. England were 257 for 3 and India’s only spinner, Axar Patel, endured the most expensive period of his T20I career, conceding 63 runs in four wicketless innings.
We have a group of tall, fast bowlers who can hit the right areas and still create chances with the old ball, even when the wickets or conditions don’t help much.
Shubman Gill | Test and ODI captain
Not looking good in ODIsIn ODIs too, one of India’s biggest concerns ahead of the 2027 World Cup is their inability to attack consistently in the midfield.This trend has been evident in recent bilateral series.Against Australia, India picked up just 4 wickets in the three ODIs at that stage, while New Zealand further exposed its problems as India lost both games without a wicket in the middle of the session at Rajkot and Indore.
India’s Kuldeep Yadav reacts after bowling during the second ODI cricket match between India and Afghanistan on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 in Lucknow, India. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
South Africa provided some relief with Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana and Prasi Krishna sharing nine wickets in three games.The results of the Afghanistan series were mixed, with India taking five wickets each in Dharamshala and Lucknow but only one in Chennai. As Kuldeep’s status appears to be slipping, captain Shubman Gill Believe the solution lies in tall pacers like Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana and Gurnoor Brar, whose bounce can create chances even on a flat pitch.
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“We have a group of tall, fast bowlers who can hit the right areas and still create chances with the old ball, even when the wickets or conditions don’t help much,” Gill said after the ODI in Chennai.People are concerned not only with form, but also with inheritance. For decades, India could rely on a spinning conveyor belt of match-winners to dominate matches across formats. Today, that production line appears to be severely depleted. With the cycle of the 2027 ODI World Cup and next year’s T20 World Cup fast approaching, the challenge for India is no longer just to revive the existing crop, but to ensure that the next generation can once again make spin the team’s strongest weapon, rather than its biggest weakness.
