For an all-too-brief period in the mid-1980s, Maninder Singh was Indian spin's candle in the wind - the heir-apparent to Bishan Bedi. Like many protégés doomed to follow in famous footsteps, Maninder's journey was a tortuous one. As a raw 17-year-old, he had it all: beguiling flight, variety and an ability to rip the ball on helpful surfaces. Matchwinning performances in England in 1986 were followed by plentiful harvests at home against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. But everything came unstuck with painful swiftness. He lost his rhythm, his tantalising loop and ultimately his place in the side. Despite an abortive comeback in the early '90s, when he desperately experimented with his bowling action, Maninder - like Laxman Shivaramakrishnan - has come to epitomise unfulfilled promise. His enduring place in the game's history is unlikely to be as a matchwinning spinner, but rather as Greg Matthews's final victim in the second Tied Test at Madras in 1986-87.
Dileep Premachandran

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May 22, 2007 Maninder Singh portrait © Getty Images

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