IPL 2020: Have Axar Patel and Washington Sundar brought back the craft of finger spinners?

Original image courtesy: BCCI, iplt20.com

If anyone asks you about the most successful bowlers in this Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the names of Kagiso Rabada, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal will come up naturally. This is not just restricted to the current IPL season. Over the few years the trend has been that more often than not, either a super fast bowler or a wrist spinner dominates the race for the purple cap.

The success of Lasith Malinga, Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla as the all-time top-three adds to the perception that either leg-spinners or fast bowlers are the real heroes of bowling in the IPL.

However, the 13th season of IPL is witnessing a new trend in spin bowling. The finger spinners, often an under-appreciated breed in this format, have made their presence felt.

One of the greatest spinners in Test cricket, Ravichandran Ashwin has adopted to the challenges of Twenty20 bowling over the years, just like another finger spin giant Harbhajan Singh, by picking wickets and also being economical.

Ashwin is once again leading with his innovations, but it is his Delhi Capitals (DC) partner Axar Patel who has caught attention with his variety. Another finger spinner like Patel who is making a subtle yet big impact for his team is Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)’s Washington Sundar. Like Ashwin, both have not picked a lot of wickets (as many as Rabada or Rashid), but have been magnificent for their team’s stunning show so far in this tournament.

The act of parsimony

DC’s Patel and RCB’s Sundar are just behind Rashid Khan as most economical bowlers of this year’s IPL (among those who have played at least four matches). If Patel has conceded a mere 5.59 runs per over then Sundar has been equally parsimonious with 5.89 runs per over in nine matches so far.

None apart from the aforementioned trio has a bowling economy under six. Admittedly, while Rashid has picked more wickets (11 in nine matches and 36 overs), Patel (seven in eight matches and 27 overs) and Sundar (five in nine matches and 29 overs) have bowled less overs.

Connecting the dots

Unlike Rashid (Sunrisers Hyderabad’s trump card) who is expected to pick up wickets regularly, especially in the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar from the team, Patel and Sundar’s roles are well defined.

Their primary job is to curb the free-flowing stroke play of dangerous batsmen in the Powerplay overs. DC and RCB have missed these strategic inputs over the years and if they are consistently among the top three teams in the points table, a lot of credit should also go to these finger spinners.

Not glamorous but mighty effective

Sundar is not a show man like Rashid or Chahal and so is Patel, who too keeps a non-glamorous profile. Both are not typical big turners of the ball but then the grammar of T20 is entirely different from other formats.

Even if you do not pick up too many wickets but are very effective in conceding fewer runs, then you are doing a splendid job for you team. That is why Sundar is a regular for Team India in the shortest format for a while. In this IPL, he has bowled almost 50 percent of his overs in the most challenging Powerplay overs for a spinner. Almost a similar kind of role is being performed by Patel for the DC.

Identical India journey

If the left arm spinner from Gujarat made his first class debut at the age of 18, Sundar made his IPL debut at 17. If Patel has represented India in 49 white ball matches, Sundar too has played 24 such matches so far. Both want to play Test cricket for India, but that looks a bit ambitious at this stage with the kind of skill set they possess right now.

The Australian World Cup dream

If Patel missed playing a match in the 2015 ODI World Cup in Australia despite being part of the squad, Sundar was all set to play his first T20 World Cup in Australia this year – which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a coincidence that both have been denied an opportunity to play a world cup game in Australia.

A tale of two finger spinners

If Patel has been often seen as a poor man’s Ravindra Jadeja (who also comes from Gujarat, but represents Saurashtra in the Ranji trophy) and did not get enough opportunity or limelight, then Sundar too has to go through an unfair comparison with his childhood hero Ashwin, who comes from the same city of Chennai.

Both Patel and Sundar have performed brilliantly so far in this IPL and have carved a niche for themselves. The differences between both spinners can be easily found in their age, journey, struggle and target and yet, they have achieved something which is common – the craft of finger spinners is back in the business.

Vimal Kumar has covered multiple cricket world cups and the Rio Olympics in the last two decades. The author of 'Sachin: Cricketer Of The Century' and 'The Cricket Fanatic’s Essential Guide' can be reached at @Vimalwa on Twitter.