STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Follow UsLyca Kovai Kings emerged as champions after winning the seventh season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), which concluded recently. TNPL has transformed into a high-profile feeder tournament for the Indian Premier League in recent years.
Sai Sudharsan, Sai Kishore, Narayan Jagadeesan and Shahrukh Khan are a few examples of players who first gained recognition in the TNPL before signing with IPL teams. Many players have established themselves in the TNPL, most notably Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy and T. Natarajan, who went on to represent India in different formats.
LKK’s Jhatavedh Subramanyan is the latest in the line to follow this trend. A leg-spinner, Subramanyan was the player of the match in a victorious final for his team. He snaffled 4/21 against the Nellai Royal Kings.
He was formerly a wrist spinner from Hong Kong and has since returned to Chennai. He was chosen by Kovai at the auction, and by finishing the season strong, he may have drawn the attention of talent scouts. The 23-year-old took 11 scalps in nine matches during his first TNPL season.
During the season, he didn't have a single negative impact, and his bowling impact was higher than his team's mean impact six out of nine times (67% of the matches), according to Criclytics' impact scores.
In the TNPL 2023, he picked up a wicket every 18 balls with an economy rate of 6.5 when looking at the bowling strike vs economy rate for spinners (min 5 overs). These are impressive numbers for a spinner in his first season, as they were near the lower left corner of the following chart.
One of the contributing factors to his excellent economy rate is his dot ball percentage - 42.9%. Moreover, he has a false shot percentage of 28.7% (a false shot is a shot that is edged or missed). When comparing the Dot Ball Percentage vs False Shot Percentage, he is in the top right corner. These are indications that it was challenging to score against him.
During the first match of the season, LKK played against IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans. He came to bowl during the 10th over and opened with a dot ball. The best part is that it was a googly, and the batsman, Tushar Raheja, was unable to connect and missed it outside off. These were the initial signs of his future success as a wrist spinner.
There is an article by Laxman Sivaramakrishnan titled "Lack of leg-spinners in India an alarming concern". You can read the full piece here. The former India spinner has coached Subramanyan and played a pivotal part in the youngster’s rise to fame.
In order to better suit the Indian conditions, Sivaramakrishnan assisted Subramanyan in changing his bowling action to gain more flight in the air. He touched 102.1 kpmh and also bowled as slow as 76.8 kmph. The range tells you the variation he has in his pace. Throughout the competition, Subramanyan maintained an average speed of 86 kmph.
Speaking to Sportstar, Sivaramakrishnan said, “When he first came, he was bowling quicker through the air because he was playing on damp pitches in the U.K. So we worked backwards from his delivery stride to figure out a run-up that will support him with the balance when delivering and make him bowl like a spinner.”
With his leg breaks, which made up about 75% of his deliveries, Subramanyan pouched seven wickets at a strike rate of 20.7 and an economy rate of 7.9. However, what set him apart from other bowlers was his "googly". His economy rate of 2.5 was the best among spinners who employed the "googly" in the tournament, despite him only bowling 25% of delivery type and managing four wickets.
Given the IPL franchise's historical interest in buying wrist spinners during the auction, he may draw bids from the majority of them, given his ability to control the flow of runs and strike at regular intervals.
From Hong Kong to Chennai and now a shot at the IPL, it has been quite a ride for the 23-year-old Jhatavesh Subramanyan.
(Image credits: TNPL)
