With growing time, spinners have played an indispensable role in the shorter forms of cricket. Be it the T20 format or the T10, or even in the newly formed Hundred, the cricket world has witnessed spinners manufacturing a great impact.
Similar has been the case during the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League where various spinners have spelled cob around the opposition batters. So let us have a quick gaze through the top five spinners of the recently concluded IPL 2023.
#5 Noor Ahmad
Amidst an array of rising stars, Noor Ahmad has been that one overseas pick that has grabbed the attention of a lot of eyeballs during the IPL 2023. The Afghanistan chinaman spinner has been under the mentorship of Rashid Khan during his run in IPL 2023. The young gun wasn’t a part of the first XI of Gujarat Titans at the start but as the tournament progressed, he was handed an opportunity.
The 18-year-old scalped 14 wickets from 12 matches with best figures of 3/37 that came against the five-time champions Mumbai Indians. Noor has outfoxed some established names in the T20 circuit such as Sanju Samson, Nicholas Pooran, Suryakumar Yadav, and Faf du Plessis.
The left-arm spinner had the role of controlling the middle over phases of the innings with either Rashid or Mohit Sharma operating from the other end in most cases. The astonishing aspect has been Noor’s economical bowling even when his partner-in-chief Rashid was bashed by the opponents.
#4 Varun Chakravarthy
Varun Chakravarthy celebrates after Shikhar Dhawan’s dismissal
One of the best comebacks in the IPL 2023 has been Varun Chakravarthy’s rise to the occasion. The mystery spinner had a breakthrough season in 2020 when the mega league was staged in the UAE and continued his form in the next season too.
He was called up for the 2021 T20 World Cup on the back of these strong performances but failed to deliver on the international stage. Eventually, the Tamil Nadu-based spinner was on the receiving end of hatred and criticism from various fans and experts.
The recently concluded IPL season saw the revival of the mystery man in Chakrvarthy as he bagged 20 wickets from 14 matches, which is his individual best in an edition of IPL. His heroic defense of 9 runs in the last over against SRH has to be one of the main talking points of his IPL career. On enquiring about what different he did, the 32-year-old highlighted giving more revolutions to the ball, and that made the difference.
#3 Piyush Chawla
The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League will be remembered for a lot of reasons. Be it CSK’s fairytale journey, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s emergence as future India stars, and the comebacks from Indian veterans such as Ishant Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, and Ajinkya Rahane.
The former Indian cricketer and a World Cup-winning member, Chawla has seen a steep crest in his IPL career. As the glitterati league unwinded, the veteran turned out to be the prime spinner of the Mumbai Indians squad. He was assisted by the likes of Hrithik Shokeen and Kumar Kartikeya and went on to scalp 22 wickets from 16 matches.
At the start of the IPL season, Mumbai Indians were speculated to be one of the weakest bowling attacks in the tournament. From thereon, Sharma’s men worked as a collective unit and helped the franchise reach the playoffs with the 34-year-old spinner having a great role in the team’s success.
Whenever a partnership was building, skipper Rohit Sharma summoned his go-to man, and Chawla delivered for the good. With an average of 22.50 and an economy of 8.11, he had a season to cherish for the Blue and gold.
#2 Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal became the all-time leading wicket-taker in the cash-rich league
The Indian wrist spinner has been one of the names that went under the radar despite impressive performances. Although Rajasthan Royals failed to qualify for the IPL playoffs, Yuzvendra Chahal has given his very best for the franchise. He pocketed 21 wickets from 14 innings and finished as the fifth-highest wicket-taker of the competitive league. He also became the all-time leading wicket-taker of the IPL despite making his debut in IPL 2013.
The Haryana-based cricketer ended the season with three four-fers and a three-fer under his name. Two of the four-wicket hauls came against the Sunrisers Hyderabad while the other one came against the two-time champions, Kolkata Knight Riders. Currently, he has gained 48 wickets from 31 matches for the RR.
#1 Rashid Khan
The wily wrist spinner has been brilliant since his arrival in the franchise and international circuit. Rashid Khan was a crucial asset of the Gujarat Titans during IPL 2023 and has bagged 27 wickets from 16 matches. He finished the tournament with an economy of under 8 and struck in every 14 balls. He was just a wicket short of being the joint-highest leading wicket-taker of IPL 2023 alongside fellow teammate Mohammed Shami.
Even skipper Hardik appreciated the presence of the Afghan cricketer by stating that Rashid is his go-to man when it comes to breaking a building partnership. Since 2017, the 24-year-old has clicked with 17 or more wickets in each of the editions of the IPL for seven years now. Despite being off-colored in the final against the Chennai Super Kings, Rashid Khan’s consistent performance makes him one of the toughest spinners in Twenty-twenty cricket.