When was the last time India played 4 spinners in a match before IND vs SA 2025 1st Test?

Team India have named a bold combination for the first Test against South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, primarily headlined by the four spin bowling options. Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar, all find a place in the playing XI, marking a rare instance where the subcontinent side have gone all out with spinners.

The Men in Blue have usually unleashed three spinners at home, a decision they could make without hesitation due to the batting ability of the all-rounders. However, they have refrained from going overboard with four spinners usually, even on raging rank turners for the sake of the team balance.

It has been a while since India have taken such a route, and the last time they chose to do so, was during the fourth Test against England in 2012 on a Nagpur dustbowl. The MS Dhoni-led side named Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha, and debutant Ravindra Jadeja in an attempt to salvage the series from a 1-2 deficit.

The Indian team, as a result, only had one frontline seam bowling option in Ishant Sharma for the entire contest. The spin quartet picked up seven wickets in the first innings, and four in the second innings, as they bowled a marathon tally of 254.5 overs in the contest, out of a total of 300 overs. Even Gautam Gambhir chipped in with his part-time spin to bowl a couple of overs.

The contest eventually ended in a tame draw as India suffered a rare home series loss. Since then, despite the age of rank turners, the team has never returned to such a combination, even when the opposition has.

Team India had to axe Sai Sudharsan from the playing XI to accommodate four spinners for IND vs SA 2025 1st Test

In the Tests played during the home season so far, India have stuck with the three-spinner policy, with Axar Patel missing out. However, encouraged by the batting ability of the spin all-rounders in recent times, coupled with the addition of another pure batter in Dhruv Jurel, the Men in Blue have entrusted Washington Sundar to take over the No.3 slot from Sai Sudharsan.

With this particular combination, India have their batting depth covered till No.8, while still having six bowling options, including four spinners and the two frontline seamers.