As the shorter version of the game simply keeps on evolving and if you take a microcosmic look at the new fabric of T20 cricket, somehow you would feel that the spinners are taking a step back from the usual limelight like before and it is turning more into a game of fast bowlers.
Well, this statement obviously isn’t entirely true, but there is a shift if you are willing to take a look a tad bit deeper. With the powerplays being entirely ruled by the quicks and the death overs, once again going to them, for the spinners its more of a damage control now in the middle-overs.
The plot is simple where they are to keep those runs in check in the overs between 7 to 15 as the field spreads. If they are able to get a wicket or two, well it’s a bonus. Thisi however, doesn’t stand entirely true because turners like Wanindu Hasaranga, Rashid Khan, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid are actually defying the tide.
In fact, in the T20 World ranking, after Josh Hazlewood in the ace, he is followed by a string of wrist spinners who are making all the right noises to be in the front pack. However, the problem that lies here is that exceptions do not defy the pack. Let’s take India’s example.
Their repeated attempts at using Yuzvendra Chahal is backfiring because there are spells where the wrist spinner is producing gold and there are days when he is simply hitting the nail hard on a dry and barren land. Barring Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel has been India’s strike bowler with multiple wickets coming his way. However, it is still to be seen, once he is battling the SENA nations in their backyard, how successful will he be.
The spinners continue to make the right ripples for sure but then again, when you start talking about their popularity not always do you manage to find a spinner leading the charts. Given the vox populi, it is usually believed that we humans tend to overlook those middle overs where the action is slightly uneventful unless a few wickets are being prised out that can be game-changing in its nature.
