India, Oct. 3 -- The competition for places in the India side among left-arm spinners has never been as high. All those in the fray can't afford a single slip-up.

Apart from established seniors - Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav - there is the rising Test star Manav Suthar. Close behind are Harsh Dubey, Sai Kishore and Nishant Sindhu.

Amid this intense competition, Mumbai's Shams Mulani faces the tough challenge of catching the selectors' attention. In terms of numbers, he is as good as anybody - 279 wickets in 61 First Class matches. Suthar, who has started his Test cricket with a bang, has 179 in 38 FC games, Sai Kishore 245 in 60 games.

Season after season, the 29-year-old Mulani has led the Mumbai bowling attack. In th...