IPL 2018: Top 5 IPL spinners of all time
When T20s first started, it was believed that the spinners might not be as effective as they as in Tests and One-Days. However, that notion has been proved wrong.
Spinners form a very important part of any T20 side. Not only do they contain the run flow, they also pick up crucial wickets. We often say batsmen have learned to improvise, but even bowlers (and spinners especially) have learned to adapt to different circumstances. Most spinners today can bowl at any stage of the game – powerplay, middle-overs and the death.
Hence, we see spinners picking a lot of wickets in the shortest format. And spinners have enjoyed great success in the IPL as well. Thus, here we look at top 5 IPL spinners of all-time.
#5 Sunil Narine – 95 wickets
Sunil Narine was one of the few spinners who shot into the spotlight because of his T20 exploits. A mystery spinner who could turn the ball both ways, Narine had the ability to contain the batsmen and pick up wickets.
Kolkata Knight Riders bought him for USD $700,000 in 2012. And he was simply brilliant in the first three seasons. He picked up 24, 22 and 21 wickets in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively and played a key part in two title triumphs for KKR. Narine had become the go-to bowler for skipper Gautam Gambhir and the latter often relied on the West Indian even at the death.
However, in 2015 when he returned after re-modelling his action, he wasn’t as effective as the previous seasons as he could neither pick wickets nor control the run-flow. But, he silenced his critics with a decent IPL in 2016 and a wonderful one in 2017 as an all-rounder (KKR promoted him to open the batting).
Hence, with 95 wickets in 82 IPL games at a strike-rate of 20.26 and an economy of 6.33, Narine is certainly one of the best spinners in the IPL.