Former Sri Lankan player Russel Arnold, despite seeing Team India’s left-arm spinner Manav Suthar’s early performances, does not call him a ‘special’ player yet. However, the newcomer has done well across his first two Tests, including a recent ten-wicket haul in the 165-run win over Sri Lanka in the series opener in Galle. Notably, in his debut outing against Afghanistan, he claimed figures of 6-33 as well.
“Well, he was good. It is just two Test matches, one against Afghanistan in India and now one here. So, to say the word special amongst the others, I’m not too sure he is there yet, because he will have to show himself in different conditions. These are, at the end of the day, helpful conditions,” Russel Arnold told a select group of reporters during a chat organised by Sony Sports Network.
“But everything to like, you need bowlers who give you control, and that is what he does. You have the batter guessing all the time, he is accurate. So, even on a good pitch, he will play a part in holding one end up, something that Ravichandran Ashwin, when he played in foreign conditions, would do. He would not get many wickets, but the economy rate would be so low that the batters are not breaking free and allowed the Indian fast bowlers to attack from the other end. There is a lot of value in that. On helpful pitches, Manav Suthar will come into his own, but beyond that, also because of his simplicity,” Russel Arnold shared.
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While Manav Suthar registered a memorable display to earn a 10-wicket haul in the game against Sri Lanka, senior spinner Kuldeep Yadav struggled on the same surface as well. He claimed only one wicket in the 25 overs he bowled as well.
“Of course you would feel pressure. When you don’t perform you would be critical of yourself, so he will be carrying some baggage, and it will be harder for him because he has watched the other two spinners pick up wickets. But a captain needs control. You expect a wrist spinner to go for a few more runs, and in Galle it was the right decision to bowl with the two left-arm finger spinners. It’s not to say that Kuldeep is not good or out of form. When you go with 3 spinners, one of them will be unhappy because he will not get too many overs to bowl,” Russel Arnold concluded.
