Teams bolstered their squads in the IPL 2023 auction which happened in December, three months ago. Now, the franchise owners will be hoping for their retained and newly-bought players to deliver them the goods and repay the faith, and money, they have invested in them.
The IPL 2023, which is the 16th edition of the IPL, will start on March 31, with the mega-clash of defending champions Gujarat Titans hosting MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
This year, the IPL will return to its traditional home-and-away format, for the first time since 2019.
In this article, we pick the best spin combination that each team could play in their XI.
Best spin attack of each team in IPL 2023:
Chennai Super Kings
CSK will perhaps be the happiest franchise to return to playing at their home. Not just because of their massive home crowd support, but cricket-wise, because MS Dhoni will be free to use his coterie of spinners at the spin-friendly Chepauk pitch.
While Ravindra Jadeja is a certain starter, Dhoni have plenty of other options: mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana and off-spinning all-rounder Moeen Ali are also almost certain to playing in the XI, especially in Chepauk.
Then there are Prashant Solanki and Mitchell Santner, who was brilliant with the ball recently in the T20I series in India, rattling the Indian batters on the spin-friendly surfaces in Lucknow and Ranchi. So, Santner, who has spent most of his time on the CSK bench in his IPL career, might get to play in CSK’s home matches.
Mumbai Indians
MI bought Piyush Chawla in the auction, and previously had retained two young spinners- off-spinner Hritik Shokeen and left-arm mystery spinner Kumar Kartikeya – both of whom made their MI debuts last season and were impressive.
Chawla and Shokeen are likely starters in MI’s home games at the pace-friendly Wankhede, with Tim David offering his part-time off-spin option as well. When MI travel to places like Chennai and Delhi, where spinners are more effective than in other places, then they might play a third spinner in the line-up.
Gujarat Titans
GT retained most of its core, which includes leg-spinning all-rounders Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia, and left-arm R Sai Kishore orthodox. Ahmedabad is a batting-friendly venue and GT are likely to play Tewatia and Rashid with 3 pacers and Pandya.
They have mystery Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad and off-spinner Jayant Yadav in the squad. Jayant can be picked in the side if the opposition has a good left-handed opener who can be dismissed via off-spin – like Dhawan, Warner, Kishan – or teams with multiple left-handers in their top 7.
Rajasthan Royals
RR have not just their bowling attack, but their team is pretty much sorted. Speaking of their spin attack, Chahal and Ashwin will be their lead spinners with the support of Riyan Parag’s off-spin. RR bolstered their spin department in the auction and their squad includes Adam Zampa, KC Cariappa, and M Ashwin too.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga will lead RCB’s spin attack like last year, and he will have Shahbaz Ahmed’s left-arm spin and Glenn Maxwell’s handy off-spin in support.
For additional choices, RCB have leg-spinner Karn Sharma in the squad, who can come in handy at times.
Lucknow Super Giants
LSG will be hoping that leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has grown with his experience and is ready to be their spin spearhead after an impressive last couple of years where he also got to play for India. Krunal Pandya is the senior left-arm spinner while Deepak Hooda can bowl decent off-spin, as he’s shown in the past year.
Off-spinning all-rounder K Gowtham and veteran leg-spinner Amit Mishra are also in LSG’s squad and could be used in certain grounds and against certain oppositions.
Delhi Capitals
Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav formed an effective spin duo for DC last season, and will be paired this year too. However, DC lack quality and experienced spin options apart from these two, with Lalit Yadav once again set to be used as the off-spinner. Leg-spinner Praveen Dubey might get some more matches this year in IPL 2023.
Punjab Kings
While Punjab have a strong pace attack, their spin attack lacks potency. The inconsistent Rahul Chahar will once again be their premier Indian spinner with left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar in support; and while Sikandar Raza is a highly experienced and quality off-spinner, he may not find a place in Punjab’s best XI.
Liam Livingstone is a key spinner for PBKS as the Englishman can bowl both off-spin and leg-spin.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Sunil Narine will once again be carrying huge expectations from KKR franchise and its fans in the IPL 2023. Varun Chakravarthy, who had a poor season last year, will have to step up. KKR have bought back Shakib Al Hasan, but he isn’t a guaranteed starter in their first-choice XI. Anukul Roy, the left-arm spinner, can get some more games in IPL 2023 compared to last season.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
SRH have a strong spin attack with Sundar and Markram as their off-spinners, Mayank Markande as the leg-spinner. SRH have roped in two high-quality overseas spinners in the auction: Adil Rashid and Akeal Hosein, both of whom capable to taking the biggest opposition wickets.
