Subhash Gupte is recognized as the best spinner ever produced in India. Many, like Garfield Sobers, called him the best leg spinner in the world. There is no doubt that Gupte was a classic spinner with flight and cunning and his 149 wickets in 36 Test matches are testament to his power and greatness. This at a time when the pitch was never the Indian team’s strong suit and numerous Gupte sacks were deflected.
Gupte’s claim to greatness begins with the Indian teams tour of the West Indies in 1953. The captain of that team was Vijay Hazare, an orthodox right-handed batsman, who was unfortunately not much of a captain. The only saving grace for him was Subhas Gupte, who threw his heart out over dead and concrete as wickets in the West Indies in that series.
Also, the West Indies had the most formidable batting line with the famous 3 W’s, Walcott, Weeks and Worrell in the team. Each of them was a great batsman in their own right, but when the 3 came together they created an incredible batting machine, the likes of which have rarely been seen in cricket history. Walcott, Weeks and Worrell are names to reckon with in world cricket history. Gupte in that series came face to face with this formidable hitting machine.
All 3 were in sublime form in that heat, but it was Gupte who earned the bouquets as he tamed this formidable trio with flight and cunning. It was a display of great spin bowling and the 3Ws treated Gupte with respect. Gupte claimed 27 wickets in that series and the world took notice of the fact that here was a little man who had tamed the ferocious 3 W.
All 3 scored great and Weeks in particular had a series of scores like 207,161 and 118 in the 5 test series. But it was Gupte who kept these W’s tied. He had no support at the other end with only Vinoo Manked working hard, but Gupte was not deterred as he kept the West Indies beating on a leash with excellent craft from him. In that series India lost just 1 test and drew 4 but the honors must go to Gupte who topped 3 W in his own den. There can be no greater performance than Gupte’s. Let’s say hello to the ‘little man’ Jim Laker called the best leg spinner in the world. Gupte then emigrated to the West Indies and that is India’s loss.