Next gen spinners on India’s domestic scene

Future of Indian spin bowling: Top Next-Gen spinners to watch out in domestic cricket.

India, traditionally, has been blessed with some quality spinners generation after generation. Much like they create batting superstars, India is known to churn out spinners in the domestic circuit. 

The retirement of ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has raised a question mark on who could be the next spinner that can take India forward. While the Test team has veterans like Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and the young Washington Sundar to take care of the spin department, they also need to keep an eye on the upcoming spinners. 

Here are the spinners in the domestic circuit that India can look at as an option for the future?

Tanush Kotian
Tanush Kotian is a right-arm spinner who has been performing well in domestic cricket over the last few seasons. The 26-year-old representing Mumbai was instrumental in his side ending the seven-season Ranji drought as they clinched the title. He picked 29 wickets in 10 games at an average of 16.96 and scored 502 invaluable runs with the bat at an average of over 40.

Kotian snapped seven wickets in the final, but his real impact came against Tamil Nadu in the semi-final, where he scored a crucial 89 with the bat to go along with a 4-wicket match haul with the ball. In short, he has been someone who steps up on big occasions. The spinner followed it with 23 wickets in the 2024/25 season. 

This consistent performance earned him a maiden Test team call-up post the retirement of Ravichandran Ashwin and a maiden IPL contract with Rajasthan Royals as well. In the 38-match FC career (113 wickets and 1914 runs), Tanush Kotian has shown immense ability with both bat & ball. Already on the fringes of the India team, a few more such consistent & impactful performances might propel his case for another national team call-up.

Read More: Top 5 emerging fast bowlers in India’s domestic circuit

Manav Suthar
In a country that has no dearth of left-arm spinners, Manav Suthar comes across yet another talented tweaker. The spinner, who has shown glimpses of potential with the bat, had a sensational 2022-23 Ranji season, where he picked 39 wickets in just six games to emerge as the joint eighth-highest wicket-taker of the season. 

This put him on the radar, but the Rajasthan spinner couldn’t continue the same form in the following two Ranji seasons, scalping 33 wickets across the nine games he played. Much like Kotian, an earth-shattering domestic season for Manav Suthar could put him back in the limelight, especially at a time when Indian selectors are looking for spin bowling options.

Harsh Dubey
No spinner in India’s domestic circuit has created an impact like Harsh Dubey did in the recent past. In the Ranji title-winning 2024-25 season for Vidarbha, Harsh Dubey emerged as the stand-out bowler, picking 69 wickets in 10 games at an average of just under 17.

Not just that, the left-arm spinner starred with the bat as well, accumulating 476 runs.

What is more special is that this was Dubey’s first full Ranji season, and he made an immediate impact. However, his potential was known in the preceding season itself as he picked 23 wickets in the five matches he played.

His success is not just limited to the longest format and has done quite well in the sporadic opportunities he got in white-ball cricket and the IPL.

Read More: Ranji Trophy 2023-24: Top 5 bowling all-rounders to watch out for in domestic circuit

Shams Mulani
One spinner who has time and again gone under the radar is Mumbai tweaker Shams Mulani. Among the six players here, Mulani is the most experienced of the lot. The left-arm spinner has played 50 games at the first-class level, picking 234 wickets at an average of 23.85 and has a handy batting average of 32.21, having made 2165 runs.

While these numbers prove he is consistent for the different sides he has played for. However, Mulani has taken his red-ball game to the next level in the recent past. In the last three Ranji seasons combined, he picked a whopping 125 wickets in 26 games at an average of just under 24.

His consistency has been remarkable, and it is just a matter of time before he gets into the fringes of the India Test team.

Kumar Kartikeya
Another left-arm spinner making the rounds in the domestic circuit is Madhya Pradesh’s Kumar Kartikeya. The 27-year-old has been in the domestic scene since 2018, and has been a talked-about name in the Indian cricketing circles.

Since his debut, Kartikeya has proved to be a prolific wicket-taker and grown leaps & bounds. One of the rare bowlers in India who could bowl both finger spin and wrist spin, the 27-year-old has picked 168 first-class wickets (average of 21.92), 46 List A wickets (average 26.19), and 51 T20 wickets (average of 21.66) 

While the overall numbers are good, in the last three seasons, he has epitomized the word consistency, especially in the Ranji Trophy. The left-arm spinner has picked 102 wickets in his last 24 Ranji Trophy games at an average of 21.33 for MP. 

He has played for the Mumbai Indians &the Rajasthan Royals in IPL, and it is just a matter of time before he makes his senior India debut.

Read More: IPL has made India a champion side in T20Is; Could Ranji Trophy do the same for India’s Test side?

R Sai Kishore
As mentioned earlier, India has a wealth of talent when it comes to left-arm spinners, and adding to the above list is the talented tweaker from Tamil Nadu, R Sai Kishore. While he burst onto the scene as someone who can be effective in the shorter formats of the game, his red-ball exploits improved tremendously in the last few seasons.

In 48 FC games, the left-arm spinner has taken over 200 wickets at an average of 23.57 and is equally prolific in the two white-ball formats (99 wickets each). His watershed moment in the Ranji Trophy came in the 2024 season, where he emerged as the highest wicket-taker (53 in 9 games). As far as the IPL is concerned, he picked 19 wickets in 15 games for the Gujarat Titans in the 2025 season, and this is his best to date. 

This shows, Sai Kishore can adapt to different formats, and it won’t be a surprise if Sai gets to add to his 3 T20I caps for India in the near future. 

Read More: Top 5 emerging bowlers in Ranji Trophy 2024-25