IPL MEGA AUCTION
Follow UsWhile the spinners might not walk away with 13-15 crores, their presence in the lineup very often defines legacies. Ravichandran Ashwin with Chennai Super Kings, Sunil Narine with the Kolkata Knight Riders, Harbhajan Singh with the Mumbai Indians and so on.
With the ball, the constant need to upgrade themselves has put the bar higher for the tweakers. 2,470 wickets have been taken by spinners in the IPL (only played in India), with Amit Mishra topping the wicket charts, with 145 wickets, at 23.5.
The evolution of the game has meant that they have become a necessity for the franchises. Can the spinners be back amongst the top money picks?
Those who turn the ball from left-to-right
While the list mostly consists of the off-spinners, inclusions such as Tabraiz Shamsi and Kuldeep Yadav makes it a pretty compelling competition.
Shamsi’s transformation in T20 cricket is formidable, his rise to the top of the T20I rankings indeed makes him a hot property. But it isn’t just that, his numbers, 42 wickets at 15.6 is mighty impressive. Since the beginning of 2021, only Imran Tahir and Wanindu Hasaranga have a better average than Shamsi (15.6) in T20s.
The fact that the left-arm unorthodox spinner brings control and cutting edge in the same package makes him a top-draw prospect, with a wicket every 16.35th delivery, and a miserly economy of 6.67
Other notable foreign options: Mujeed ur Rahman (Afghanistan) – 18.68 BPW, 6.4 ER and 46.9% dot balls, Roston Chase (West Indies)
Amongst the Indian spinners, Kerala’s Jalaj Saxena, makes things extremely enticing. In T20s since 2020, the off-spinner has a miserly ER of 6.51 which goes well with his Balls per Wicket ratio of 18. In the same time frame, the off-spinner has scalped 15 times in India’s domestic T20 competition.
If experience is the criteria, the franchises would definitely be eyeing Ravichandran Ashwin. A proven match-winner, the off-spinner has picked 29 wickets since 2020, at 28.5. While that isn’t the most impressive of his traits, the fact that his reading of the game is on the top-level, with his leadership abilities well recognized, the franchise would heavily benefit from that.
Other notable Indian options: Parvez Rasool (Jammu and Kashmir), Krishnappa Gowtham (Karnataka)
Those to who turn the ball from right-to-left
Attacking options
Two words: Wanindu Hasaranga. It is impossible to look beyond the Sri Lankan leg-spinner in this category. If Tabraiz Shamsi is having a dominant year, his close competitor, Hasaranga isn’t far behind. In T20Is since 2020, the leg-spinner has picked up 40 wickets, at just 12.7, and is only five wickets away from Shamsi.
Not just that, his economy rate is also the second best in that phase (5.7), with a dot-ball percentage of 43.80. To top all of that, his ability with the bat (SR 136.92) makes him the top pick.
Other notable foreign choices: Imran Tahir (South Africa), Adam Zampa (Australia), Adil Rashid (England)
The two attacking options amongst the Indian lot is clear: Yuzvendra Chahal and Rahul Chahar. Since the beginning of 2020, the Haryana leg-spinner Chahal has picked up 57 wickets, the most by an Indian spinner averaging 27.9. While his economy rate (7.7) might be on the higher end, his wicket-taking prowess is unparalleled.
The franchises could also eye Chahar, a proven customer in the IPL, with 45 scalps against his name in the shortest format, only behind Chahal. His average (22.7), at an economy rate of 7.6 surely stands out. Not to forget his balls per wicket record of 18.
If the franchises are looking for a spinner, who potentially can turn into a mentor in the near future, they should pick the big fish, Amit Mishra. Only five wickets away from being the highest wicket-taker across all IPL seasons, Mishra’s at an age where fitness might be a big question.
Other notable Indian choices: Murugan Ashwin (Tamil Nadu), Harpreet Brar (Punjab), Mayank Markande (Punjab)
Out of the Box Options
Two names that have stood out in the past two years, both economically and wicket-wise are KC Cariappa and Akeal Hosein. While the former has already faced the brunt of the IPL reality, his storming returns in the recent past is unignorable.
Since 2020, reincarnated, Cariappa has picked up 12 wickets, averaging 16.9, having an impressive ER of 5.6. To add to that, the element of mystery attached to him makes him a mighty worth option, a punt-worthy one rather.
Other options: Mayank Dagar (Himachal Pradesh)
On the other hand, there is the left-arm spinner from the Caribbean, Akeal Hosein’s ability to hold the fort in the powerplay and pick wickets at a regular basis makes him stand out amidst the others. In the same time frame, the left-arm spinner has picked a dot-ball percentage of 48.90, with 38 wickets in the last two years, averaging just 18.8.
Other options: Maheesh Theekshana (Sri Lanka), Waqar Salamkheil (Afghanistan)
Indian uncapped players
If the franchises are looking at it from a powerplay standpoint, Tamil Nadu’s Sai Kishore might be a pick to look at. The left-arm spinner, who operates across the innings, has the third-best economy rate in global T20s (since 2020), at 5.48. He also strikes every 20 deliveries, with a dot-ball percentage of 46.70. With nine wickets in the powerplay, franchises can’t go wrong.
Akshay Karnewar might have made the headlines, on the back of his brilliant spell, where he picked up two wickets without conceding a run. But his rise to fame is that he is statistically the fifth-best spinner (since 2020) in the country, with 35 wickets, all with an average of 16.6. To go with that, the fact that he can bowl from either of his hand, makes him a pick to desire for the franchises.
Other notable options: Akshay Wakhare (Vidarbha), Shahbaz Ahmed (Bengal), Sagar Udeshi (Mumbai)
