IPL 2020: 3 franchises that heavily rely on an overseas spinner
During the squad build-up, the IPL franchises try to create a strong Indian core and then rely on the overseas options to fulfill their remaining needs. India has been a dominant spin-producing country as far as the bowling is concerned and the franchises have always bagged them in bulk.
Big names like Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, R. Ashwin, Anil Kumble, Pragyan Ojha, and many others have always led their respective spin attack over the years and relying on a foreign spinner has been very rare.
Here are the three teams though that depend on the overseas spinner in the forthcoing edition of IPL.
#3 Sunrisers Hyderabad - Rashid Khan
Since making his debut, Rashid Khan has become the backbone of the Sunrisers Hyderabad's spin attack. There have been certain spinners like Bipul Sharma and Shahbaz Nadeem but the Afghan leggie has been the leader for three seasons now.
Even if they have required an extra spin-bowling option, SRH again turned to foreign resources like Mohammed Nabi and Shakib Al Hasan. It is the quality that Rashid Khan brings to the table which has made him the mainstay for the 2016 champions. In a total of 46 IPL matches for the Hyderabad-based franchise, the 21-year-old cricketer has picked 55 wickets at a measly economy rate of 6.55 and he has crossed the 17-wicket barrier in every season, thereby making him the most consistent performer for the SRH.
SRH has managed to sign a quality Indian fast bowling group led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the support of Khaleel Ahmed, Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma, and Basil Thampi and allowed themselves to rely on the Afghanistan sensation. Coming to IPL 2020, SRH will continue to bank upon the foreign spinner, who will once again be the spearhead of their spin attack.
Note: All statistics as of January 24, 2020