Why Are Spinners Successful in T20I Cricket?

Nine out of the top 10 T20 bowlers in the ICC rankings are bowlers, but what is the secret behind their success?

The secret to a leg-spinner’s success in T20

(Photo: The Quint)

Video Editor: Sandeep Suman

Have you seen the newly-issued ICC rankings? If yes, and if you look carefully at the list of bowlers, then you will find a pattern. The names on the charts are Rashid Khan, Shadab Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Adil Rashid, Adam Zampa and Ish Sodhi. They are the top six bowlers in the T20i rankings and the common denominator between them is that they are all spinners. At the moment, leg-spinners or wrist-spinners are the ones dominating the T20 format.

Out of the six names mentioned, five are leg spinners and Kuldeep Yadav is a chinaman. If you go further, you will be surprised to know that nine out of the top 10 T20 bowlers are spinners, and only one is a medium-fast bowler Faheem Ashraf

But why are spinners, especially wrist spinners, successful in T20 format?

Leg-Spinner spins the ball away from the batsman

Sixes are a necessity in T20 cricket. The team that hits more sixes has a greater chance of winning. And it is hard to hit a leg-spinner for a six. Why? Because a leg-spinner spins the ball away from the batsman.

Leg-Spinners don’t give the ball much flight time

The second reason behind their success is that leg-spinners don’t give a ball much flight time. Coaches usually advise the bowlers to not give it much flight time, because if a batsman sees a ‘flighted ball’, he may step down the pitch to hit the shot accordingly.

These two reasons make leg-spinners a crucial weapon in a T20i match.