IPL 2019: Legspin - The common thread that connects all the teams
Be it a majestic cover drive or a towering 100 meter six, the spectators are certainly in awe and wonder looking at the stroke. After all, they have shelled out their hard earned money to watch the entertainment created by the batsmen. With the boundaries becoming shorter and bats becoming thicker and above all the nature of T20 cricket allows the batsmen to play with more freedom, the bowlers are certainly placed with a lot of disadvantage.
The art of batsmanship has evolved to such an extent that the bowler might bowl the bowl at the off stump with a packed off-side field, but the batsman can shuffle across the stumps and whip the ball past mid wicket with ridiculous ease. Or the bowler might ball a full delivery onto the pads only for the batsman to make room and carve a neat hit over extra cover.
With these belligerent and outrageous shots executed by batsman, the crowd definitely turns frenzy and berserk and the bowlers are made to look like scapegoats.
Despite the amount of carnage produced the batsmen, captains are always eyeing on one bowler to turn things around for his side; one bowler who can certainly turn up as the last messiah and weave a magic and cast a spell over the batsmen; one bowling style whose very art form is difficult to master. Yes it indeed about the leg spinners.
Captains have definitely started considered leg spinners as their go-to bowlers. Be it the old warhorse by the name Imran Tahir (CSK) or the young rookie Sandeep Lamichhane (DC), they have time again produced match winning performances.
The experienced ones in Rashid Khan (SRH), Yuzvendra Chahal (RCB), Piyush Chawla (KKR), and Amit Mishra (DC) are definitely making an impact in this year's IPL. And not to forget the contribution from the uncapped Indians like Rahul Chahar (MI), Murugan Ashwin (KXIP) and Shreyas Gopal (RR).
What makes the leg spinners click despite the odds against them? These bowlers require minimal assistance from the pitch because their wrist do the job. They are able to impart a lot of revolutions on the ball and deceive the batsmen with flight and deception. They are also able to outsmart the batsmen with a lot of variations of spin and bounce like the googly and the flipper.
Being a leg spinner takes a lot of doing. For one, the art form is difficult to master and they can get tonked all over the park and leak a a lot of runs if they do not get their rhythm right. But one positive thing is that in today's age, they definitely have the backing from the captain and the team management.
Let us hope that wrist spinners continue to entertain us with their magic and bring glory to this beautiful game.