Who was the best? Compare and contrast...among the GREAT 4

[fineleg]

No, this is not "SRT, VVS, Dravid, Ganguly" 4 This is the Chandrasekhar, Bedi, Prasanna, Venkatraghavan... Who was the best? Any compare/contrast...

[Texan]

Venakataraghavan's career record is far inferior than the rest. I don't think he deserves to be considered in the same league. I never watched any of them play, but from what I've read in articles, blog posts, etc., Prasanna would be my # 1 choice.

[fineleg]

Some ppl say Chandra was top too (due to his mystery factor)

[carnish]

Prassana>Chandra>bedi>venkat

[Rajan]

IMHO, when we compare any great exponents of the game, whether batsmen and or bowlers, we should consider them at their best. though Chandra was often erratic, I think he was the most unpredictable and unplayable in the true sense of the phrase. so, he should be the best among the 4. The competition may be stiff for the 2nd spot because, there are as many fans for BS Bedi's great action, control , drift, turn etc as many for Prasanna's mastery of flight, dip and guile. at the end of the day, Bedi had taken more wickets but if I stick to the "best spells" vs "best spells", certainly Prasanna would be the 2nd. Moreover, for some of his best years, Prasanna had to be content with a phase outside the team because of Venkataraghavan's inclusion in the team though both were quite different type of offspinners.. In Venkat's case, he was more accurate than Prasanna, had a very good quicker one, some good figures against decent teams, some one as great as Garfield Sobers had some good comments about venkat. he had some excellent figures in his longish career in domestic cricket. but even to me , a tamilian with some bias towards cricketers from TN, I think what saved the day and gave more opportunities for Venkataraghavan was his sharp fielding and some backing from TNCA strongmen..who influenced BCCI. hope i have not offended any one..

[Temujin Khaghan]

first of all venkatraghavan is the universally accepted no.4... so we will keep him aside next within the remaining prasanna is universally accepted as no.3.. so we will keep him aside if you want the best spinner amongst the remaining players, then the difference between bedi and chandra is similar to that of a python and a cobra. while bedi waited and played a very patient game, slowly tightening the noose; chandra was more aggressive and spit venom. he is primarily responsible for the first overseas series win for India against england in 1971 and the melbourne win (first Indian win on aussie soil) in 1967 with his 12 for. he is also responsible for the famous win against benaud's team in brabourne... bedi is also responsible for famous win for India so if you are asking me to pick the best spin bowler, then i will pick chandra but if you are asking me to pick a spin bowler in my all time test XI Indian team - then i will prefer bedi over chandra... --- kumble > chandra > bedi > prasanna > harbhajan > ashwin > ojha > venkataraghavan

[Rajan]

TK... Venkat never had these issues of chucking etc which cloud(ed) Harbhajan. Venkat had to contend with a vastly superior spin trio to get a look in. his domestic record is very very good. he was an All Time Great in the spin pantheon of Indian Cricket. with respect to only bowling, following would be my order.. kumble > chandra > bedi > prasanna > venkataraghavan>harbhajan > ojha> ashwin

[fineleg]

Is kumble better than all 3 - chandra and bedi and pras?

[Rajan]

a few may argue that he was not a conventional 'spinner' but Kumble has the records! he was more consistent and persevering.. however he may not make it to many cricketer's All time Indian XI...but a Prasanna or Bedi or Chandra would. but,Sheer numbers speak... probably he has more international wickets than this entire quartet. he has a TEN for also.

[Temujin Khaghan]

a few may argue that he was not a conventional 'spinner' but Kumble has the records! he was more consistent and persevering.. however he may not make it to many cricketer's All time Indian XI...but a Prasanna or Bedi or Chandra would. but,Sheer numbers speak... probably he has more international wickets than this entire quartet. he has a TEN for also.

i dont know where you got this idea, but sachin, gavaskar, dravid, kapil and kumble are a must in every all time Indian XI. the place of chandra, bedi and prasanna is up for competition all the time. Cricinfo's all time indian XI Virender Sehwag Sunil Gavaskar Rahul Dravid Sachin Tendulkar Vijay Hazare Vinoo Mankad MS Dhoni Kapil Dev Anil Kumble Javagal Srinath Erapalli Prasanna http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/475753.html

[PAA-G]

Chandroooo n prasanna any day

[adi B]

chandrasekhar>prasanna>>bedi>venkat

[express bowling]

Kumble>Chandrashekhar>Bedi>Gupte> Harbhajan/Prasanna>Venkat

[fineleg]

^ Gupte > Prasanna ? How so?

[PAA-G]

Some ppl say Chandra was top too (due to his mystery factor)

ya have heard the same from my unkles.....though i havent watched his bowling video....can some1 post the link for same.....

[bsriharsha]

Bedi over Chandra (marginal call) Venkat is not in the league of the other three... Subash Gupte would be probably rated as better than all of them though.

[Muloghonto]

Having read quite a lot of cricket books, here is what the experts said of the four: 1. Prasanna: probably the best exponent of loop and dip the world has ever seen, his trademark was to lure batsmen with loop and flight. Pras could make the ball pitch half a foot away from where even set batsmen approaching their centuries would think it would pitch. A thinking man, he was happy to concede boundaries to build a false sense of security and overconfidence, which he ruthlessly exploited with his loop. Had he not taken time off to finish his engineering degree, he would've been our first ever 300 wicket bowler. He is rated amongst the top 3-4 offies of alltime, with Lance Gibbs, Jim Laker and Murali as his only competition. 2. Chandra: he was a Kumble-esque bowler who got more turn, bowled at a brisker pace but with less control. Chandra had his bowling arm withered by polio as a child and often he himself did not know what he would do with the ball. He was an atypical spinner in the sense that he relied neither on spin nor on accuracy to make his mark. He was always a threat everywhere because of the four, he bowled wicket-taking deliveries most frequently but also bowled 'hit me' balls more than any of the four. A very Waqar-like bowler, who would take bucketloads of wickets and be expensive. 3. Bedi: the best left arm slow bowler the world has ever seen, Bedi was a master of flight and accuracy. I've seen Bedi bowl in the nets after he retired and he was exemplary in his accuracy and flight. Had a wicked arm ball and at times it felt like he overused it (bear in mind, this is nets, so anything goes). 4. Venkat: clearly the lesser of the four bowlers mentioned here, Venkat was a defensive bowler who would've done wonders in the limited over game. Venkat had the job of bowling tight and drying up runs at one end so bowlers at the other end could pick up wickets. Those who say that Venkat was there due to 'Tamil mafia' are completely inaccurate. In hindsight, one can say that Prasanna should've played more, as Pras was a far greater wicket-taking bowler than Venkat. But Venkat was the most miserly of the four (ie, most accurate and defensive minded), he was also the most reliable batsman of the four ( Venkat had a good defensive technique, he could hold up an end for a long long time) and above all, Venkat was an exceptionally gifted leg slip/forward short leg. It was his fielding above all that kept him in the side above Prasanna, as Venkat was quite easily the best fielder in the Indian team at the time and probably one of the top 5 fielders to field close to the bat on the leg side in the history of the sport.

[express bowling]

^ Gupte > Prasanna ? How so?

The players of yesteryears rated Gupte very highly. Some thought he was the best spinner we ever had. In that age the off spinners did not have doosras and the 15 deg. rule was not there. Hence, good leg spinners turned the ball more than finger spinners who also lacked the delivery that went the other way. So, I would tend to prefer wrist spinners over finger spinners of that era. You would ask why I have put Bedi ahead then. Because he could turn the ball big even with his fingers and has stats. to support his potency. Prasanna could not turn the ball as much according to our buzurg.

[vvvslaxman]

Having read quite a lot of cricket books, here is what the experts said of the four: 1. Prasanna: probably the best exponent of loop and dip the world has ever seen, his trademark was to lure batsmen with loop and flight. Pras could make the ball pitch half a foot away from where even set batsmen approaching their centuries would think it would pitch. A thinking man, he was happy to concede boundaries to build a false sense of security and overconfidence, which he ruthlessly exploited with his loop. Had he not taken time off to finish his engineering degree, he would've been our first ever 300 wicket bowler. He is rated amongst the top 3-4 offies of alltime, with Lance Gibbs, Jim Laker and Murali as his only competition. 2. Chandra: he was a Kumble-esque bowler who got more turn, bowled at a brisker pace but with less control. Chandra had his bowling arm withered by polio as a child and often he himself did not know what he would do with the ball. He was an atypical spinner in the sense that he relied neither on spin nor on accuracy to make his mark. He was always a threat everywhere because of the four, he bowled wicket-taking deliveries most frequently but also bowled 'hit me' balls more than any of the four. A very Waqar-like bowler, who would take bucketloads of wickets and be expensive. 3. Bedi: the best left arm slow bowler the world has ever seen, Bedi was a master of flight and accuracy. I've seen Bedi bowl in the nets after he retired and he was exemplary in his accuracy and flight. Had a wicked arm ball and at times it felt like he overused it (bear in mind, this is nets, so anything goes). 4. Venkat: clearly the lesser of the four bowlers mentioned here, Venkat was a defensive bowler who would've done wonders in the limited over game. Venkat had the job of bowling tight and drying up runs at one end so bowlers at the other end could pick up wickets. Those who say that Venkat was there due to 'Tamil mafia' are completely inaccurate. In hindsight, one can say that Prasanna should've played more, as Pras was a far greater wicket-taking bowler than Venkat. But Venkat was the most miserly of the four (ie, most accurate and defensive minded), he was also the most reliable batsman of the four ( Venkat had a good defensive technique, he could hold up an end for a long long time) and above all, Venkat was an exceptionally gifted leg slip/forward short leg. It was his fielding above all that kept him in the side above Prasanna, as Venkat was quite easily the best fielder in the Indian team at the time and probably one of the top 5 fielders to field close to the bat on the leg side in the history of the sport.

Nice Summary

[Temujin Khaghan]

But Venkat was the most miserly of the four (ie' date=' most accurate and defensive minded)[/quote'] in general may be venkat. but bedi is the most miserly of them all spinners