Now Reading: How VVS Laxman tracked spinner Manav Suthar to India Test debut
-
01
How VVS Laxman tracked spinner Manav Suthar to India Test debut
Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, 24, claimed 10 wickets across two innings to steer India to a 165-run Test victory over Sri Lanka in Galle this week. The Rajasthan cricketer, who went unsold…
Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, 24, claimed 10 wickets across two innings to steer India to a 165-run Test victory over Sri Lanka in Galle this week. The Rajasthan cricketer, who went unsold at the 2023 IPL auction, had taken 39 wickets in six Ranji matches the season before and later shone in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.
National Cricket Academy chief VVS Laxman had flagged Suthar to then chief selector Chetan Sharma, who flew to Jodhpur in January 2023 to watch him. Suthar repaid the attention with an unbeaten 64 and 10 wickets in that Ranji match against Chhattisgarh, cementing his reputation as India’s most promising left-arm spin prospect for the post-Ravindra Jadeja era.
Suthar’s first taste of the national set-up came in February 2019, when he made his India Under-19 debut against South Africa and took four wickets under Rahul Dravid’s youth programme. His long-time coach Dheeraj Sharma said Suthar’s distinctive skill set has become muscle memory and sets him apart from other left-arm orthodox spinners.
Indian Opinion Analysis
India’s search for a left-arm spin successor to Ravindra Jadeja has been an open question since Jadeja turned 35 last year. Suthar’s rise matters because the domestic system routinely produces batsmen but struggles to groom quality spinners outside the Ranchi superstar. The real test comes when Suthar faces top-order batters who attack spin on turning pitches in home Tests, not Sri Lanka’s inexperienced line-up. The BCCI’s A tours and NCA tracking, now under Laxman, are the pipeline that must deliver three or four credible spinners before the next overseas cycle in England 2026, where Jadeja may not be available. Watch whether Suthar gets a senior India call-up before the home season ends in March 2025.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
