IPL 2022: Ranking the Indian spinners in the tournament
The curtains came down on IPL 2022 on Sunday (May 29), with the Gujarat Titans (GT) completing a fairytale triumph in their debut season. The Hardik Pandya-led outfit defeated the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by seven wickets in front of a jam-packed crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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The 74-game tournament saw many a record being broken while batters, pace bowlers and spinners all had an equal say in how events transpired. The spinners in particular played a crucial role despite the surfaces aiding the batters for a good portion of the tournament.
Indian spinners in IPL 2022
The race for the Purple Cap also continued till Yuzvendra Chahal's final over last night. The leggie just about pipped Wanindu Hasaranga of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to top the bowling charts.
Looking back at IPL 2022, we rank five Indian spinners based on their performances this season.
#1 Yuzvendra Chahal (RR) - 9/10
A straightforward one given that Yuzvendra Chahal was quite simply the best spinner on display throughout IPL 2022. With 27 wickets from 17 games, Chahal also broke the record for the most wickets picked up by a spinner in a single edition of the competition.
Coming over to the Rajasthan Royals after being released by the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chahal's flight, guile and turn were all on display from the very first game. He barely seemed to slow down, save for a couple of games in the playoffs.
To top it all, Chahal also picked up a five-wicket haul that included a hat-trick during a run-fest against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Brabourne Stadium. Having been left out of the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup last year, the lad from Haryana has proven that he's quite comfortably the best spinner in the country at the moment.
#2 Ravichandran Ashwin (RR) - 8/10
Chahal's partner-in-crime may not have picked up a truckload of wickets but Ravichandran Ashwin played an equally important role in the Royals making the final. His defensive bowling skills at one end allowed the leg-spinner to attack from the other, as the duo formed the most potent spin combination of IPL 2022.
Ashwin kept things tidy across large swathes of the competition, mixing his lengths while largely bowling at quick speeds. His back-spinner to uproot Rajat Patidar's off-stump in Pune was one of the finest deliveries of the tournament to boot.
The Tamil Nadu veteran finished with an economy rate of 7.50 - which is outstanding, considering the shorter boundaries and the flat tracks across Mumbai and Pune. He gets an 8 out of 10 for a consistent IPL 2022 campaign.
#3 Kuldeep Yadav (DC) - 7.5/10
Undoubtedly one of the most storied comebacks of the IPL 2022 season, Kuldeep Yadav carved out a beautiful redemption arc for himself. Having warmed the benches for KKR last season before missing the second leg due to an injury, Kuldeep found himself at crossroads, with chances in the Indian team hard to come by.
However, the wrist-spinner reaped the rewards for the work put into increasing his bowling speed, the lack of which played into the batters' hands earlier on. So much so, that in the Delhi Capitals' first four victories, Kuldeep took the Player of the Match honors.
There was a minor slump in between, however, as Kuldeep looked to flight the ball far too often and paid the price for the same. If you're wondering why Ravichandran Ashwin has been ranked higher in this list, it's simply down to better control over length and pace that ensured opposition batters can't get away.
There's been so much talk about Umran leaking runs and lacking control. But in middle overs (7-16), his numbers are comparable to Kuldeep.
Umran: 18 wkts, ER 8.38, Avg 19.56 SR 14
Kuldeep: 20 wkts, ER 8.33, Avg 19.85, SR 14.3 twitter.com/gurkiratsgill/…
That said, it's been a memorable and remarkable season for Kuldeep, whose version 2.0 might have just begun taking shape. Without a doubt, one of the best spinners of IPL 2022 and we mark him 7.5 out of 10.
#4 Ravi Bishnoi (LSG) - 5.5/10
Ravi Bishnoi was one of the Lucknow Super Giants' pre-auction drafts for IPL 2022. Having entered the season on the back of a promising start in India colors, Bishnoi showcased his skills as a defensive bowler to great effect.
For some reason though, Bishnoi showed a lack of control over his lengths while also looking to flight the ball far too often. This resulted in batters not shying away from taking the attack to him - something that came to the fore in the Eliminator as Rajat Patidar tore into him at the rate of knots.
It was a mixed bag for Bishnoi as he finished with 13 wickets at an economy rate of 8.44. His lack of incision and control hurt LSG towards the business end of the tournament as they bowed out in the Eliminator. We give him 5.5 on a scale of 10, given the lack of clarity in his bowling that was on display.
#5 Axar Patel (DC) - 3/10
IPL 2022 was quite an indifferent campaign for Axar Patel, who has been one of the more consistent bowlers in the league over the years. So much so, that the left-arm spinner went wicketless nine times out of 13 outings this season.
While Axar has been a masterful defensive bowler over the years, his nagging lines and lengths have meant that he doesn't end up starved of wickets per se. While he did find his groove to a better extent in the second half of the tournament, Patel's returns still left a lot to be desired.
An economy rate of 7.46 is an admirable one given the surfaces that the tournament was played on. However, Axar's lack of penetration hurt DC on those days when Kuldeep Yadav took some tap. He's surely a better bowler than just the six wickets he's picked up this season but only gets a rating of 3.5 out of 10.
Also read: IPL 2022: 5 Indians with the best strike rate in the league's history