The famed Indian Spin Quartet (Hunting in Packs - Part 1)

Every often we see some reference or other to the famous Indian Spin Quartet, a team with a dream variety.
Indeed, it was a group of talent with a variety you can think of. Bishan Singh Bedi, (the left arm spinner), Bhagwat Chandrashekhar (the meverick leg spinner), Erappalli Prasanna (the guileful offspinner) and Srinivas Venkataraghavan (another master offspinner).

But surprise, surprise.... They haven't played much together. In fact, all of them have played together only in one test, against England at Birmingham in 1967. And they lost the test. They did take 18 wickets together, but that wasn't sufficient to pull out a win, the batting failure in the first innings cost them the match.

However, the Quartet was the main force behind India's tests during that period. In total, at least one of them have appeared in 98 out of the 136 tests India played, after Prasanna debuted in 1962 to Venkat playing in last test in 1983. In the 38 tests that India played without any of the four, India won 5, lost 12 and drew 21, while when any of the 4 played, India won 23, lost 36 and drew 39.
Together, they have taken close to 63% of the wickets that were taken by Indian bowlers during their time, and 80% of the wickets when any 3 of them appeared together.

Bedi captained India in 22 tests winning 6 and losing 11, while Venkat captained in 5 tests and lost 2 of them.

Bedi was the most successful bowler for India before Kapil Dev overtook him. Bedi ended his career with 266 wickets, at an average of 28.71 and a strike rate of 80. Chandra took 242 wickets in 58 tests, with an average of 29.75, and SR 66. Prasanna and Venkat averaged above 30, for their 189 and 156 wickets respectively.

All had far better stats in India compared to Away tours.

Among the two-player combination, Bedi and Prasanna combined well to play 7 tests, winning 4 and losing 3. In those 7 tests, Prasanna took 49 wickets at a strike rate of 56 and an average of 21, way better than his career stats.

Three players combination has played in 54 different test matches, taking a combined tally of 613 wickets. Obviously, the most accomplished trio of Bedi, Chandra and Prasanna have appeared the most, taking 249 wickets in 23 tests at an average of 31.38.

It would also be interesting to see how well they fared against the top side of the world then, the mighty West Indies. Well, the stats don't look that great, for Chandra is the only bowler to return a better strike rate in the 60s and has the lowest average among the four. He also averages more than 4 wickets per test against WI.

How well did they contribute in Indian wins, especially abroad?
In 9 tests that India has won with their presence outside India, they have a combined haul of 130 wickets with an average of 20.8. And they have taken 78% of the total wickets picked up by bowlers. And the three player combination of Bedi, Chandra and Prasanna had contributed towards 7 wins in total, at an average of 17.43 and strike rate of 48.5. Obviously, Chandra was the star, 50 wickets in those 7 tests.

What about the other bowlers who played during the same era?

During the span of 21 years while at least one of the Quartet was in force, as many as 51 players have turned their arm over, and 14 of them have taken more than 10 wickets in matches where at least one of them was present. I don't think I need to announce any prizes for guessing the top wicket taker, as by the time Venkat retired, the young man by the name Kapil Dev had already made the headlines multiple times.

But prior to 1979, the year when both Bedi and Chandra moved out, the other bowlers were more often called to fill in. Even then, there were some notable presence. Karsan Ghavri took 39 wickets at 26.46 while three of the 4 spinners played, actually a better stats compared to the Quartet combined. Then there was the "fastest spinner", Madan Lal, Abid Ali and even Mohinder Amarnath making it to the list as notable contributors.

Career Stats.
Career Stats - All Opponents, All Tests, All Grounds
Career - Tests -
BS Bedi-67,
BS Chandrasekhar-58,
S Venkataraghavan-57,
EAS Prasanna-49,
Combined - 98

Career - Wickets -
BS Bedi-266,
BS Chandrasekhar-242,
S Venkataraghavan-156,
EAS Prasanna-189,
Combined - 853

Career - Average -
BS Bedi-28.71,
BS Chandrasekhar-29.75,
S Venkataraghavan-36.12,
EAS Prasanna-30.38,
Combined - 30.73

Career - SR -
BS Bedi-80.32,
BS Chandrasekhar-65.96,
S Venkataraghavan-95.37,
EAS Prasanna-75.94,
Combined - 78.03

Career - 5 WI -
BS Bedi-14,
BS Chandrasekhar-16,
S Venkataraghavan-3,
EAS Prasanna-10,
Combined - 43

Career - 10 WM -
BS Bedi-1,
BS Chandrasekhar-2,
S Venkataraghavan-1,
EAS Prasanna-2,
Combined - 6

2 Players Combination Bedi/Prasanna - Tests - 7
2 Players Combination - Wickets - BS Bedi-28, EAS Prasanna-47, Combined - 75
2 Players Combination - Average - BS Bedi-24.54, EAS Prasanna-21.23, Combined - 22.47
2 Players Combination - SR - BS Bedi-74.86, EAS Prasanna-56.11, Combined - 63.11
2 Players Combination - 5 WI - BS Bedi-2, EAS Prasanna-3, Combined - 5

3 Players Combination Bedi/Prasanna/Chandra - Tests - 23
Wickets - BS Bedi-98, BS Chandrasekhar-97, EAS Prasanna-54, Combined - 249
Average - BS Bedi-28.11, BS Chandrasekhar-28.12, EAS Prasanna-43.15, Combined - 31.38
SR - BS Bedi-71.58, BS Chandrasekhar-60.65, EAS Prasanna-110.17, Combined - 75.69
5 WI - BS Bedi-5, BS Chandrasekhar-8, EAS Prasanna-1, Combined - 14
10 WM - BS Bedi-0, BS Chandrasekhar-1, EAS Prasanna-0, Combined - 1

Stats against West Indies.
Tests - BS Bedi-18, BS Chandrasekhar-15, S Venkataraghavan-23, EAS Prasanna-11
Wickets - BS Bedi-62, BS Chandrasekhar-65, S Venkataraghavan-68, EAS Prasanna-34
Average - BS Bedi-34.89, BS Chandrasekhar-33.52, S Venkataraghavan-39.47, EAS Prasanna-41.76
SR - BS Bedi-87.85, BS Chandrasekhar-66.05, S Venkataraghavan-96.18, EAS Prasanna-91.62

Stats in wins abroad
Tests - BS Bedi-8, BS Chandrasekhar-5, S Venkataraghavan-4, EAS Prasanna-7, Combined - 9
Wickets - BS Bedi-32, BS Chandrasekhar-42, S Venkataraghavan-14, EAS Prasanna-42, Combined - 130
Average - BS Bedi-25.91, BS Chandrasekhar-17.14, S Venkataraghavan-33, EAS Prasanna-16.5, Combined - 20.8
SR - BS Bedi-64.81, BS Chandrasekhar-38.38, S Venkataraghavan-87.64, EAS Prasanna-48.86, Combined - 53.58
5 WI - BS Bedi-0, BS Chandrasekhar-5, S Venkataraghavan-1, EAS Prasanna-3, Combined - 9
10 WM - BS Bedi-0, BS Chandrasekhar-1, S Venkataraghavan-0, EAS Prasanna-1, Combined - 2


Performance of other players when 3 in the Quartet played together (not any particular combination)
KD Ghavri - Tests - 13, Wickets-39, Avg.-26.46, SR-49.74
S Madan Lal - Tests - 16, Wickets-29, Avg.-33.69, SR-84.72
S Abid Ali - Tests - 18, Wickets-27, Avg.-45.48, SR-98.07
M Amarnath - Tests - 21, Wickets-19, Avg.-49.47, SR-109.74
ED Solkar - Tests - 25, Wickets-15, Avg.-58.67, SR-124.6

They bowled, and bowled lot of overs. They kept plugging away. It's mainly their contribution that helped India to taste success when there were hardly any fast bowlers to attack.