India, Aug. 7 -- India's supremacy in Test cricket has been based on the fact that at home, they were untouchable. It was largely due to the brilliance of their spinners.

The country has never had a dearth of spin-bowling options. When you have the likes of Bishan Singh Bedi, EAS Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja at your disposal, the captain's job is always easy.

The beauty of recent history was the seamless succession: the duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, in the 1990s and 2000s, was succeeded by the equally lethal combination of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

When playing at home, the captain had to hand the ball to these pairs and enjoy watching them weave their spin m...