6 min readAhmedabadFeb 19, 2026 05:12 PM IST A novelty tactic deployed by the visionary Martin Crowe in the 1992 ODI World Cup has found a revival in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Crowe, the New Zealand captain, opened the bowling with Dipak Patel, a journeyman batting all-rounder, recast into an off-spinner. The move shocked the favourites Australia, co-hosts and defending champions. Similarly, captains have used seemingly ordinary off-spinners to handcuff India’s power-packed top-order. It has worked tellingly, to such an extent that it has emerged the unforeseen tragic flaw of this wondrously knit batting unit. None of Aryan Dutt, Salman Ali Agha and Gerhard Erasmus induce sleepless nights. Batsmen don’t hawkishly pore over their footage. None of them turn the ball precociously away from the left-hander, and on the contrary, spin or angle the ball into them; none possess befuddling variations or roll out arcane tricks from their sleeve. Bestowed with humbler virtues, they deal with subtle change of pace, angle and release points, at a spinner’s good length, or just shorter. None are …