Leggie Chahal makes it count

Wrist-spinners prove their worth once again

 In a format that's a total nightmare for bowlers, leg-spinners have surprisingly carved a niche for themselves in this edition of the Indian Premier League. Be it young Rashid Khan, Imran Tahir, Yuzvendra Chahal or Samuel Badree, the wrist-spinners have proved that they can be valuable assets to their sides with their wicket-taking abilities.

While Rashid, the young 18-year-old from Afghanistan, has taken Season-10 by storm with 10 wickets from 8 games for Sunrisers Hyderabad, 38-year-old Tahir, who went unsold at the auction before being lapped up by Rising Pune Supergiant just before the tournament could begin, showed why’s he ranked the No 1 bowler in the world in ODIs and T20Is with 10 scalps.

Chahal has once again led the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s attack with gusto, bagging 7 wickets, while his partner Badree claimed a hat-trick on debut to make an instant impression. The 36-year-old Badree, who missed RCB’s previous game, bagged a couple more in his second game against RPS to further enhance his stock.

Chahal, addressing the media on the eve of RCB’s game against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, felt the ability of wrist spinners to turn the ball on any wicket is what made them extremely dangerous.

“Compared to other spinners, the wrist spinners are totally different. On a flat wicket, they can turn the ball more as compared to an off-spinner or left-arm spinner. And if the wicket is turning, leg-spinners can be potent. I think, in IPL, the leg-spinners are always on top,” opined Chahal.

On a personal front, 26-year-old Chahal felt he loves to bowl on flat wickets rather than square turners. “For me, I love to bowl on flat wickets. I don’t like bowling on turning wickets.

“Because on turning wickets, most balls would just beat the batsmen. On flat wickets you can plan — when to bowl sliders, when to bowl googly. For me, I just like little bit pace in the wicket.”

Chahal, meanwhile, said bowling with Badree has made things easier for him. “It will help RCB a lot because he (Badree) bowls in the Power Play and I can bowl in the middle.

“A guy like (Pawan) Negi can bowl in the 13th to 15th over phase. Last year I was the only one bowling in the Power Play and the middle overs. Now we have two spinners who can bowl in the Power Play.”