Spinners in the Indian Premier League (IPL) are not looking to turn the ball as they have not developed the skills since young age and it is not possible to develop the art during the tournament, said Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan.
Muralitharan added that spinners nowadays do not develop the art of spinning the ball and making batters think as their focus remains on containing with variations.
"(The) domestic level (cricket) has also been like this for spinners. When we played cricket, as a spinner, you have to turn the ball - that is your first objective. Nowadays, it's not the key because everyone is not looking at (playing) Test cricket. They are looking to play one-day cricket," Muralitharan told reporters here on Wednesday after Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Mumbai Indians by six wickets.
"Even at a young age, they only try to bowl quicker, vary (the deliveries) and not try to spin it. Because they are not getting that ability from the younger days, they can't come (at the age of) 19s and 18s and try to spin the ball because their muscle memories are already there in place.
"When you are (at the) age of 10, 11, (or) 12, try to spin. That's the way we learnt. We need to spin to beat the bat," he added.
Muralitharan said batting against spinners in the IPL is like practicing against throwdown specialists as it is all about getting in the line of the ball and smacking it.
"If you are a really good spinner, if you can spin the ball, then you have a chance to beat them. But if you can't spin, it's like all the batsmen you see in the practices, (what) they do with the throwdowns and hit sixes," he said.
"It looks like a throwdown bowler bowling at you and you are getting into the line and hitting. That's the way the batsmen are playing. But if you spin, their eyes open.(They are forced to think) 'oh, it's spinning and I'm missing it'. " Muralitharan continued, "It's very difficult to teach (spin bowling). It has to come from them. But there are all coming in at the age of professional level. When you come one level higher, you have to improve their game. So some people do, some people go down so it's very difficult to come here in the IPL and improve spinners."
When asked how he and Australian legend Shane Warne would approach such a scenario of batting-dominated game, Muralitharan said they would not have been so expensive.
"See, we would have turned the ball but we would have not made a big dent. We could have got like one or two wickets maybe. They would (still) have scored 40 runs (off us) easily because wickets are so good," he said.
"Shane Warne was also a freak because he could spin the ball and he could do wonders. (But) the game has changed. We can't compare eras. The way the players bat, the mentality of the players and these are the things that have changed."
"We can't think about the past. Okay, we are greats from our time but now these people are greats because that is the way the game has gone," he added.
Muralitharan said producing fair wickets is the only way to balance the competition between bat and the ball.
"If we can give fair wickets, but then the spectators will be bored. Cricket followers and cricketers who are very young; the 20-20 followers are very entertainment (oriented). They want to see fours and sixes so that is why the tournament is built like that and (with that) extra player to come and bat and not (let teams) go (for) lower scores," he said.
"It's an entertainment. This is not looking (that) you are developing a cricketer or not.
It is a big business at the moment, right? Sponsors and everything" Muralitharan said, adding that the bowlers would be able to catch-up in a season or two.
(With inputs from PTI)