Wisden overview
A left-arm spinner in the classical mould, Murali Kartik has long been on the fringe of the national team. He has a high arm action straight from the coaching manual, and has all the weapons in his armoury - the tantalising loop, the ability to extract sharp turn and bounce, and subtle variations. But he hasn't had the breaks. He forced his way into the Indian team by sheer weight of wickets, but didn't seem to enjoy his captain's confidence and was either used as a defensive option or underbowled. Kartik was injured for much of the 2000-01 season, but forced his way into the one-day team against West Indies with a bagful of wickets in domestic cricket. Bowling with exceptional control and guile, Kartik immediately lent an incisive edge to the attack, keeping the runs in check and taking wickets in the middle overs. A place in the World Cup squad seems a certainty, and a Test berth shouldn't be far away. India might at last have found an answer to their calls for a quality left-arm spinner. S Rajesh

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