3 Indian spinners who credit Shane Warne for their success ft. Kuldeep Yadav
The late spin wizard Shane Warne is widely regarded as the greatest leggie the game of cricket has ever seen. The Aussie legend is credited with reviving the dying art of leg-spin in international cricket under his tremendous success in the 90s, which inspired a generation of youngsters to take up leg-spin bowling.
The former Australian cricketer made an underwhelming debut in a Test against India in Sydney in January 1992. However, in the years to come, he went on to establish himself as one of the greats of the game. In a stellar career, Warne represented Australia in 145 Tests and 194 ODIs, claiming 708 and 293 wickets respectively. He is second on the list of bowlers with most international scalps.
The late Aussie great has a mammoth following in India. Several slow bowlers from the nation have openly spoken about the Warne influence in their bowling. On that note, we take a look at three Indian spinners who have credited the Australian spin wizard for playing a role in their success.
#1 Kuldeep Yadav
Team India's left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav recently visited the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to pay tribute to the Aussie great. He posted a photo with a statue of Warne from outside the MCG. Reflecting on his association with the late cricketer, Kuldeep said:
“Shane Warne was my idol, and I had a very strong connection with him. I still get emotional when I think about Warnie - it feels like I’ve lost someone from my family."
Earlier, the 29-year-old had told the Indian Express how Warne's words of wisdom gave him confidence ahead of the 2019 Test against Australia in Sydney.
“Ahead of the Sydney Test in 2019, I was a little nervous before the match. I used to meet him in the morning. He came to me and said, ‘I don’t know what you are going to bowl, but I want you to be happy on the ground. I will be watching you from the pavilion. It doesn’t matter how you bowl. Just do it with a smile',” the left-arm wrist-spinner recalled.
In an earlier episode of the ICC Review, Kuldeep had stated that he still watches old clips of Warne when in doubt.
"If there is any doubt with how I am bowling, I look at his old action... I used to watch him to television and observed how he used to dismiss batters and his planning," Kuldeep was quoted as saying.
The Indian spinner has featured in 12 Tests, 106 ODIs, and 40 T20Is and has claimed 294 international scalps.
#2 Piyush Chawla
Veteran Indian leg-spinner Piyush Chawla also opened up on Warne's impact on his career recently. Speaking on the 2 Sloggers podcast, the Indian cricketer recalled how he felt that T20 cricket was not his cup of tea after a couple of poor games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) while representing Punjab Kings (then Punjab Kings) in the inaugural edition in 2008.
With a 19-year-old Chawla low on confidence, Punjab franchise skipper Yuvraj Singh arranged a meeting between him and Warne, who was then the captain and coach of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) franchise.
"Yuvraj came up and he made me meet the legendary Shane Warne. I went to his room and started speaking. English, I wasn't able to speak much and the one with accent, couldn't understand much. But I understood whatever little I could. After 40 minutes, I left his room and I'm not kidding but I felt there is no bowler better than me. He said so many things to me and made me understand the little things about cricket," Chawla said on the podcast.
Now 35, Chawla is second on the list of leading wicket-takers in the IPL. In, 192 matches, he has claimed 192 scalps at an average of 26.60 and an economy rate of 7.96.
#3 Yuzvendra Chahal
For seasoned Indian spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, Warne was the inspiration behind him taking up leg-spin bowling. In 2021, he admitted that he learned the art of leg-spin by watching videos of Warne's bowling.
"I started watching videos of Shane Warne sir, and that's where I realized what leg-spin is. He was my idol, and I wanted to be like him, bowl like him... I used to enjoy the way he used to trap the batsman. One class that he had was about controlling the drift, so that's what I learnt by watching his videos all the time," Chahal said on his exclusive online class with FrontRow.
The 34-year-old also shared his views on the 'ball of the century' bowled by Warne to Mike Gatting during the 1993 Ashes. He admitted that he also wanted to clean up a batter with a magical delivery like that.
"I used to watch all his videos, and especially, the way he bowled Mike Gatting, which is every leg-spinner's dream delivery. Made me feel that even I should get a batsman out like that once. And, I guess that came true during the New Zealand tour when I took Martin Guptill's wicket. I think that was my special delivery," the Indian leg-spinner commented.
A white-ball specialist, Chahal has featured in 72 ODI and 80 T20Is, claiming 121 and 96 wickets, respectively.