Devendra Bishoo

Devendra Bishoo has long been looked upon as the man to revive leg spin bowling in the West Indies. Having churned out wickets at the domestic level for Guyana, Bishoo's turning point came in the 2010 West Indies T20 tournament, when he helped Guyana win the tournament and also helped them qualify for the Champions League T20.

He won the Man of the series in that tournament, picking up 10 wickets in four matches at an astonishing average of 8.20 and with a superb economy rate of 5.12. Guyana put on a poor show at the Champions League, but Bishoo came out of the tournament with his head held high. His attacking style of bowling won him many admirers and he was chosen to play in the 2011 World Cup.

He made his debut against England at Chennai made an immediate impression. He changed the course of the match by picking up the key wickets of Jonathan Trott, Eoin Morgan and Luke Wright and ended up with 3/34 in his 10 overs. It was this fine spell that announced him on the world stage. He continued to progress upwards. He had a wonderful T20 debut against Pakistan when he picked up 4/17 to help the Windies to victory. This earned him his first Man of the Match award.

He continued to torment Pakistan in the ODI series with 11 wickets at an average of 17.18. It was indeed a proud moment for him and Guyana when he was awarded the Test cap on his home ground. Like in the ODIs and T20Is, he had an immediate impact by picking up 4/68. In the second innings, he shared a crucial 48-run stand with Chanderpaul for the last wicket to help the Windies get to safety.

Bishoo credits all his success to his parents. Having lost his father 17 years ago, his mother gave him the strength to achieve his goals. Everytime he goes out on the field wearing the West Indies cap, he takes a moment to remember his father, who had wanted him to be part of the West Indies. Today, looking at the rise of Devendra, Mohanlal Bishoo would be a very proud father indeed.

Bishoo's immense talent saw him deservedly bag the ICC Emerging Player Award in 2011.

However, Australia's tour of West Indies in 2012 saw Bishoo's rise being swamped. He played just the one Test out of three, conceding 125 runs with a meager wicket to show for. He fell out of favour in the abbreviated forms of the game as well. Shane Shillingford took over the mantle of the prime spinner before Sunil Narine snatched it away. Bishoo saw himself accompanying West Indies A team rather than going with the Test team on the high-profile tour to England.

Bishoo remained out of favour in Tests for the next three years, making a return against England in the second Test at St George's in April 2015. Gradually, Bishoo seems to have found his feet in Tests. He registered his first ten-wicket haul with match figures of 10 for 174 in the day/night Test against Pakistan in the UAE.

He was a part of Windies's squad for the two Tests in New Zealand in 2017-18 but couldn't find a place in the eleven on pace-friendly tracks.

by Siddharth Vishwanathan and Deivarayan Muthu