Saturday, 11 August 2007

What makes Sikhs great spinners in cricket?


I am not a spin doctor, and Sikhs are not famous for being one. But reading this article in the daily mail on Bishen Singh Bedi and Mudhsuden Singh Panesar set me thinking. What makes Sikhs great spinners?

Look at the Sikhs who have made it big in cricket. Barring Navjot Sindh Sidhu, who began as a "strokeless wonder" and moved on to become "sixer Sidhu", all of them happen to be spinners.
It started with the Sultan of spin, Bishen Singh Bedi. Later came Maninder Singh, who was described as Bedi's successor. Bedi once remarked that if he had half of Maninder's talent, he (Bedi) would have the world at his feet.
Then came Harbhajan Singh, often known as Bhajji, who continues to be a matchwinner.
And now comes Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, more famous as Monty Panesar. His official website is here.
Barring Harbhajan Singh, who is a right arm spinner, the other three are or were left arm spinners.
However more interest revolves around Monty Panesar, since he is the first Sikh to play for the English cricket team. India no longer enjoys monopoly over Sikh talent, it seems. Monty Panesar's official website also has t-shirts with the logo "Sikh and destroy".
The other Sikh who played international cricket was Gursharan Singh, albeit very briefly. I do not recall of any other Sikh cricketer, barring Yuvraj Singh (who apart from being a batsman is also a left arm spinner), who may not be described as Sikh by purists. But if you count Yuvraj, then don't forget his father Yograj Singh,  who made his mark in Punjabi films rather than cricket, though he was acknowledged by many to be faster than Kapil Dev.
But back to spin. Gursharan Singh and Yograj never made it big. Sidhu did and so is Yuvraj, but
the balance is in favour of spinners.
Sikh and spin!

1 comment:

Saurabh Tewari said...

One more Sikh Spinner :)
Sarandeep http://www.espncricinfo.com/ipl2010/content/player/34211.html