Error! India’s once-feared weapons arsenal is drying up

India’s Ravi Bishnoi delivers during the second T20 International match between India and England as part of India’s England 2026 tour at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester, England. New Delhi: Ravichandran Ashwin retired. Ravindra Jadeja is nearing the end of an illustrious career. Axar Patel has lost his bite, Kuldeep Yadav his magic, Varun Chakravarthy his mystique and Washington Sundar can only be a holding bowler at best. India’s famed factory outlet is showing alarming signs of drying up, and the cupboard is suddenly looking alarmingly bare. There are few compelling options when looking for wicket-taking bowlers. Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, despite taking three no-balls in the second T20I against England and being dropped in the remaining matches, has been picked as Varun Chakravarthy’s replacement for the Zimbabwe tour.Eyebrows were raised when the selectors picked 33-year-old Madhya Pradesh off-spinner Saransh Jain and Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari, who have not played a first-class match for six years, in the India A squad for the tour of Sri Lanka.Tech Word News. com can confirm that Jain earned his selection after impressing former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh during a professional camp for budding off-spinners held at the BCCI Center of Excellence in March. Meanwhile, Zeeshan caught the eye of head coach Gautam Gambhir in Chandigarh, where he was one of the seven bowlers with the Indian squad ahead of the one-off Test against Afghanistan. With several proven options in the pipeline, India’s spin department looks worryingly thin.The debacle in Ireland and EnglandIndia’s 6-0 loss in the T20I series in Ireland and England has raised alarm over the team’s performance.In T20 cricket, overs seven to fifteen are often described as the tactical heart of the game. This is where quality spin attacks disrupt partnerships, slow down the scoring rate and force batsmen into errors. Indian spinners have done neither in recent weeks.

India’s Axar Patel reacts after being hit for six during the first IT20 match between Ireland and India at the Civil Service Cricket Club on June 26, 2026 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

In the first T20I against Ireland, the hosts moved to 51 for 4 in 7.1 overs. What followed was a 64-run stand off just 44 balls between Lorcan Tucker and Gareth Delany that completely changed the complexion of the innings. India managed just one wicket between overs 7 and 15, a stage where spinners are expected to squeeze runs and pick up wickets. Axar Patel eventually finished with 2 for 33, but both his wickets came in the 18th and 20th overs, long after Ireland had rebuilt. Washington Sundar, meanwhile, conceded 19 runs in a single over, further easing the pressure.The second T20I followed a similar template. Ireland were 48 for 3 after 7.3 overs but Harry Tector and Ben Calitz added 65 runs in 43 balls for the fourth wicket. Axar Patel, India’s only specialist in the game, returned figures of 0 for 28 from four overs but failed to find the breakthrough India desperately needed.England executed this plan even more ruthlessly. In the second T20I, England were reduced to 51 for 3 in 4.4 overs. Again, India failed to capitalize. Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton stitched a 67-run partnership from 50 balls, taking the game away.

Indian Varun Chakravarthy tries to catch

The Indian trio of Ravi Bishnoi (0 for 60), Axar Patel (1 for 20) and Varun Chakravarthy (1 for 37) conceded 117 runs in their 12 overs combined, managing just two wickets. More tellingly, India picked up just one wicket between overs 7 and 15, allowing England to dictate the middle stage.The third T20I offered only marginal improvement. India claimed three wickets between overs 7 and 15, but none went through the spin. Axar Patel (1 for 49) and Varun Chakravarthy (0 for 35) combined for just one wicket in seven overs, and that too came outside a crucial rebuilding phase.In the fourth T20I, England barely needed to negotiate the middle turns. Chasing a modest target, they ended the match in 13.5 overs, making India’s spin attack largely irrelevant. Axar Patel (0 for 24) and Washington Sundar (0 for 19) wicketless as they conceded 43 runs in just three overs.The fifth T20I was perhaps the most alarming. England amassed 257 for 3, with Axar Patel the only Indian spinner to have the costliest spell of his T20I career, conceding 63 runs in four wicketless overs.

We have a good bunch of tall fast bowlers who can hit the right spots and still create opportunities with the old ball even when the wicket or conditions aren’t helping them much.

Shubman Gill | Test and ODI captain

Things are not looking good in ODIsIn ODIs too, one of India’s biggest fears ahead of the 2027 FIFA World Cup has been their inability to bat consistently in the middle-order.This trend has been evident across recent bilateral series.Against Australia, India managed just four wickets in three ODIs at this stage, while New Zealand exposed the problem further as India lost a wicket in the middle overs in Rajkot and Indore, losing both matches.

India’s Kuldeep Yadav reacts after delivering a delivery during the second ODI cricket match between India and Afghanistan in Lucknow, India, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

South Africa provided some relief with Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna sharing nine wickets in three games.The Afghanistan series produced mixed returns, with India taking five middle wickets in Dharamsala and Lucknow but only one in Chennai. Kuldeep, who seems to be retreating, believes the solution lies in tall pacers like Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana and Gurnoor Brar, whose bounce can create opportunities even on flat pitches, skipper Shubman Gill believes.

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Share an opinion“We have a good bunch of tall fast bowlers who can hit the right spots and still create opportunities with the old ball even if the wicket or the conditions don’t help them much,” Gill said after the ODI in Chennai.It’s not just about form, it’s about sequence. For decades, India could rely on a conveyor belt of match-winning spinners to control games across formats. Today, that production line seems to have dried up dramatically. With the 2027 ODI World Cup and next year’s T20 World Cup cycle fast approaching, India’s challenge is no longer just to revive the current crop but to ensure that the next generation can once again spin the team’s biggest weapon, not its biggest weakness.