Standard of spin bowling has dropped due to too much T20 cricket, claims Murali Kartik

Standard of spin bowling has dropped due to too much T20 cricket, claims Murali Kartik

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Kartik played nine years of county cricket

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Murali Kartik has shared that the standard of spin bowling has been on a downward spiral thanks to the insane amount of T20 matches being played currently. A domestic stalwart by every means, Kartik has also stated that playing for various county teams for eight years was a great experience.

With T20 cricket taking precedence and offering a great deal of money, players are preferring long-arm wicket-taking options, with the faster spin bowlers being the major order of the day. The likes of Rashid Khan, Shadab Khan, and Sandeep Lamichhane have been the major string-pullers, which, in some way, impacted their performances in the longer formats of the game, where one needs to be accurate more than anything.

Murali Kartik, one of the classical spinners in yesteryear Indian cricket, whose high-arm action straight from the coaching manual made him a darling of the masses in the early 2000s, stated that too much of T20 cricket is affecting the standard of T20 bowling.

"The standard of spin bowling has been dropping and I feel the reason is too much of T20 cricket," Kartik told Sportstar during an Instagram chat.

Kartik, who scalped 644 First-class wickets from 203 matches, had a nine-year-long county stint with various teams like Middlesex, Somerset and Lancashire from 1999 to 2008. Although chances for the Indian team came far and few in between, he went on to excel in the county circuit. The former left-arm spinner feels that it was a period of great solace for him.

"The late V.B. Chandrasekhar was so influential on me he made me feel like a match-winner. Bishan Singh Bedi also inculcated this. So did Abhay Sharma when I played for Railways. The kind of mind games, the ego games I learnt from him (Chandrasekhar) was brilliant. Once you are established then there is nothing to worry as you will get your field. But while growing up you need your captain's support," Kartik said.

"1999-2008 is a fond memory. I didn't lose my competitive zeal and was playing County cricket. For a kid who never wanted to play cricket and wanted to become a genetic engineer to play for India was a bonus. To be praised by Michael Holding and other stalwarts was a bonus. Playing for the country for nine years is a blessing," he said.

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