The thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick start from September 19th in the UAE. All the eight teams, which are part of this year’s tournament, are keen to lift the IPL trophy in the forthcoming season.

In the auction, all the teams strengthened their squads by ticking the required boxes. While the pacers and the all-rounders attracted heavy bids, many franchises tried to strengthen their spin-attack by shelling out huge amounts.

Considering the spin-friendly tracks in the UAE, teams, having the best spin-attacks, will be having quite a strong chance to taste success in this IPL. So, let us look at the spin-bowling options of each team and rate them according to their strength.

Here is the rating given to spin attacks of each team on a scale of 10: &#8211;

8) Mumbai Indians (6.5/10)

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-341155" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Chahar.jpg" alt="Rahul Chahar, Mumbai Indians, IPL" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-341155" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Chahar. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption>

Their spin bowling options: Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav and Anukul Roy.

Mumbai Indians are having the weakest spin-department in this season with no overseas option in their squad. The four Indian spinners in their squad lack in experience and the Mumbai-based franchise can pay a heavy price in this season for their choices in the auction.

While Krunal and Rahul are expected to be a part of the starting XI, they are not the ones on whom teams can hinge on to pick crucial wickets in the middle-overs. The back-up options, Yadav and Roy, don’t have much of an experience either and the impact they make remains to be seen.

After Lasith Malinga’s exist from this IPL, Mumbai should have opted for an overseas spin-bowling option considering the spinning tracks in the UAE, but they chose James Pattinson as the former’s replacement. With no overseas option and lack of Indian experience, Mumbai’s spin-attack stands last on the list.

7) Rajasthan Royals (7/10)

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-377608" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Shreyas-Gopal.jpg" alt="Shreyas Gopal" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-377608" class="wp-caption-text">Shreyas Gopal. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Their spin bowling options: Shreyas Gopal, Mayank Markande, Mahipal Lomror, Shashank Singh, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, and Anirudha Joshi.

Just like Mumbai Indians, the Jaipur-based franchise also lack in overseas spin bowlers on whom the team can rely this season. The Royals traded in Mayank Markande from Mumbai before the auction in December 2019. But too much of leg-spin can be a problem for them in the coming IPL.

Shreyas Gopal, who took a hat-trick in the last season, is expected to lead the spin-unit of the team this season. Mayank’s poor form in the last season can be a concern for the Royals as he is the only spinner in the lineup, who has played an international game for India.

The Royals&#8217; spin-attack weakened when they traded Krishnappa Gowtham to KXIP before the auction. Although they bought Joshi in the auction, he too doesn’t own much experience. Young all-rounder Riyan Parag is a player to watch for in the Royals&#8217; squad this season. With Gopal being the best spinner in the squad, RR are placed just above MI in the list.

6) Kings XI Punjab (7.5/10)

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-243635" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman-1.jpg" alt="Mujeeb Ur Rahman" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-243635" class="wp-caption-text">Mujeeb Ur Rahman of KXIP celebrates a wicket. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Their spin bowling options: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Glenn Maxwell, J. Suchith, Harpreet Brar, Ravi Bishnoi, Tajinder Dhillon, Murugan Ashwin, Krishnappa Gowtham and Deepak Hooda.

With KL Rahul captaining their team for the first time, KXIP are looking forward to adding their maiden IPL trophy to their cabinet. Coming to their spin attack, the Punjab-based franchise is lacking in Indian experience but has some young players to look up to in their squad. Ravi Bishnoi is one of the U19 players to look out for in this IPL. He can play a crucial role in Punjab’s campaign this season.

Despite trading out their skipper Ravi Ashwin to DC ahead of the auction, KXIP still managed to build a decent spin-bowling attack ahead of this season. They traded in Karnataka’s all-rounder K. Gowtham to their squad. Gowtham was a consistent performer with the ball for the Royals in 2018 edition of the league.

Afghanistan off-spinner Mujeeb and the Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell are fairly strong options for the Punjab-based franchise this season. They both bring in a lot of experience to the bowling department and are expected to lead the spin department along with the young sensation Bishnoi.

5) Delhi Capitals (8/10)

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-334663" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sandeep-Lamichhane.jpg" alt="Sandeep Lamichhane" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-334663" class="wp-caption-text">Sandeep Lamichhane. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption>

Their spin bowling options: Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sandeep Lamichhane and Lalit Yadav.

Though the spin-attack of the Delhi-based franchise is small, it is lethal with lots of experience among them. The trio of Mishra, Ashwin and Axar have more than 350 wickets in the IPL. With these three in their squad Delhi Capitals will be looking to make use of the UAE pitches the best.

Axar Patel and Amit Mishra have been consistent performers for the Capitals and having Ashwin in the squad will be an added bonus to the franchise who are looking to register their first IPL win under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy.

The Capitals also have the services of Nepalese leg-spinner, Sandeep Lamichhane, this season, who can turn the course of the match with his mystery leg spin. Sandeep might also struggle to get a place in the playing XI owing to the four-foreign-player policy. Due to their odds to leak runs in the middle-overs of games, they are kept fifth in the list.

4) Sunrisers Hyderabad (8/10)

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-333640" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rashid-Khan-1.jpg" alt="Rashid Khan" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-333640" class="wp-caption-text">Rashid Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Their spin bowling options: Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Shahbaz Nadeem, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Bavanaka, Fabian Allen and Abdul Samad.

Sunrisers&#8217; bowling atatck is one of the best in the season and coming to their spin-department, they have the No.1 T20 bowler, Rashid Khan in their squad. They also have the services of Rashid&#8217;s national teammate, Mohammad Nabi, who was in a terrific form in the recently-concluded CPL.

The Hyderabad-based franchise don’t have depth in their Indian spin-options despite having four Indian spinners in their squad. Shahbaz Nadeem is the lone experienced spinner in the squad and his poor performances with the ball will be a concern for the team management. The Punjab all-rounder, Abhishek Sharma, is an exciting option for SRH and is expected to play in important role in his team’s journey this year.

They also have Fabian Allen as a back-up for Nabi and Rashid. With all three great options, SRH can only play one among them due to their overseas combinations and thus Nabi may end up on the bench for most part of the season. If Hyderabad can play both Nabi and Rashid in the XI, considering the spin-friendly pitches in UAE, they will then have quite a strong chance to win the championship.

3) Kolkata Knight Riders (8.5/10)

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-247291" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sunil-Narine.jpg" alt="Sunil Narine" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-247291" class="wp-caption-text">Kolkata Knight Riders&#8217; Sunil Narine in action. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption>

Their spin bowling options: Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, M Siddharth, Chris Green and Nitish Rana.

KKR’s spin bowling attack is powerfully packed with the likes of Sunil Narine, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/social-distancing-101-rohit-sharma-interacts-with-kkrs-kuldeep-yadav-and-abhishek-nayar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kuldeep Yadav</a> and Varun Chakravarthy in their squad. The two-time champions are willing to add their third trophy to their vitrine under Dinesh Karthik’s captaincy.

Despite their poor show in the last year’s IPL, KKR’s spin attack is looking lethal with Kuldeep and Narine in their armoury. Narine just had an excellent CPL and is expected to continue his form in the IPL too. On the other hand, Kuldeep has became the go-to-bowler for India in limited-overs cricket in the recent past.

The franchise bought Chris Green and Varun Chakravarthy in the auction, and both could provide a good back-up option to their spin duo. With Nitish Rana expected to play the part-timer&#8217;s role, KKR’s spin-unit is looking balanced with both Indian and overseas options.

2) Royal Challengers Bangalore (9/10)

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-335401" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Yuzvendra-Chahal-1.jpg" alt="Yuzvendra Chahal" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-335401" class="wp-caption-text">Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption>

Their spin bowling options:  Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi, Washington Sundar, Adam Zampa and Moeen Ali.

Despite having a very strong batting lineup, the Bangalore-based franchise struggled to enter the playoffs in the past three seasons due to their inexperienced bowling lineup. The team management did a pretty decent job in the auction by adding some lethal bowlers to their lineup.

Coming to the spin department of RCB, it is same as last year with the likes of Chahal, Sundar, Moeen and Negi in the squad. Adam Zampa&#8217;s inclusion as a replacement of Kane Richardson can turn out to be a very good choice considering the spin friendly tracks in the UAE.

With Chahal and Sundar being regular in the Indian T20 side and with Moeen and Zampa as the foreign options, RCB’s spin department is looking brutal for the first time in the last few years and they are definitely a strong contender to fight for the trophy this year.

Chennai Super Kings (9.5/10)

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-340709" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Imran-Tahir-2.jpg" alt="Imran Tahir" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-340709" class="wp-caption-text">Imran Tahir. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption>

Their spin bowling options: Piyush Chawla, R Sai Kishore, Imran Tahir, Ravindra Jadeja, Karn Sharma, Mitchell Santner and Kedar Jadhav.

The Chennai-based franchise is having the best spin attack in the tournament with a variety of options in their squad. Generally, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/crictracker/photos/a.643089012388490/3890415427655816" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chennai</a> will always have a bunch of talented spinners in their group due to the spin tracks at their home ground, Chepauk. Due to this reason CSK will be one step above all the teams in the UAE conditions.

In the auction, Chennai signed Piyush Chawla for a whopping INR 6.75 crores and he is expected to lead the spin department in the absence of Harbhajan Singh, who opted out of the league due to personal reasons. They also have Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner in their squad who can change the course of a match with their all-round abilities.

Imran Tahir, who was the Purple Cap-winner in last season brings the team tons of experience and is expected to be the team’s main overseas option. R Sai Kishore and Karn Sharma can provide additional back-up to the team. With all these variety of options, CSK stand at the top of the list.

~Uday Gurugubelli

The thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick start from September 19th in the UAE. All the eight teams, which are part of this year’s tournament, are keen to lift the IPL trophy in the forthcoming season.
In the auction, all the teams strengthened their squads by ticking the required boxes. While the pacers and the all-rounders attracted heavy bids, many franchises tried to strengthen their spin-attack by shelling out huge amounts.
Considering the spin-friendly tracks in the UAE, teams, having the best spin-attacks, will be having quite a strong chance to taste success in this IPL. So, let us look at the spin-bowling options of each team and rate them according to their strength.
<h3>Here is the rating given to spin attacks of each team on a scale of 10: –</h3>
<h3>8) Mumbai Indians (6.5/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_341155" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-341155" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-341155" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Chahar.jpg" alt="Rahul Chahar, Mumbai Indians, IPL" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-341155" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Chahar. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav and Anukul Roy.
Mumbai Indians are having the weakest spin-department in this season with no overseas option in their squad. The four Indian spinners in their squad lack in experience and the Mumbai-based franchise can pay a heavy price in this season for their choices in the auction.
While Krunal and Rahul are expected to be a part of the starting XI, they are not the ones on whom teams can hinge on to pick crucial wickets in the middle-overs. The back-up options, Yadav and Roy, don’t have much of an experience either and the impact they make remains to be seen.
After Lasith Malinga’s exist from this IPL, Mumbai should have opted for an overseas spin-bowling option considering the spinning tracks in the UAE, but they chose James Pattinson as the former’s replacement. With no overseas option and lack of Indian experience, Mumbai’s spin-attack stands last on the list.

<h3>7) Rajasthan Royals (7/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_377608" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-377608" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-377608" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Shreyas-Gopal.jpg" alt="Shreyas Gopal" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-377608" class="wp-caption-text">Shreyas Gopal. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Shreyas Gopal, Mayank Markande, Mahipal Lomror, Shashank Singh, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, and&nbsp;Anirudha Joshi.
Just like Mumbai Indians, the Jaipur-based franchise also lack in overseas spin bowlers on whom the team can rely this season. The Royals traded in Mayank Markande from Mumbai before the auction in December 2019. But too much of leg-spin can be a problem for them in the coming IPL.
Shreyas Gopal, who took a hat-trick in the last season, is expected to lead the spin-unit of the team this season. Mayank’s poor form in the last season can be a concern for the Royals as he is the only spinner in the lineup, who has played an international game for India.
The Royals’ spin-attack weakened when they traded Krishnappa Gowtham to KXIP before the auction. Although they bought Joshi in the auction, he too doesn’t own much experience. Young all-rounder Riyan Parag is a player to watch for in the Royals’ squad this season. With Gopal being the best spinner in the squad, RR are placed just above MI in the list.

<h3>6) Kings XI Punjab (7.5/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_243635" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-243635" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-243635" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman-1.jpg" alt="Mujeeb Ur Rahman" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-243635" class="wp-caption-text">Mujeeb Ur Rahman of KXIP celebrates a wicket. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Glenn Maxwell,&nbsp;J. Suchith, Harpreet Brar,&nbsp;Ravi Bishnoi, Tajinder Dhillon, Murugan Ashwin, Krishnappa Gowtham and Deepak Hooda.
With KL Rahul captaining their team for the first time, KXIP are looking forward to adding their maiden IPL trophy to their cabinet. Coming to their spin attack, the Punjab-based franchise is lacking in Indian experience but has some young players to look up to in their squad. Ravi Bishnoi is one of the U19 players to look out for in this IPL. He can play a crucial role in Punjab’s campaign this season.
Despite trading out their skipper Ravi Ashwin to DC ahead of the auction, KXIP still managed to build a decent spin-bowling attack ahead of this season. They traded in Karnataka’s all-rounder K. Gowtham to their squad. Gowtham was a consistent performer with the ball for the Royals in 2018 edition of the league.
Afghanistan off-spinner Mujeeb and the Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell are fairly strong options for the Punjab-based franchise this season. They both bring in a lot of experience to the bowling department and are expected to lead the spin department along with the young sensation Bishnoi.

<h3>5) Delhi Capitals (8/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_334663" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-334663" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-334663" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sandeep-Lamichhane.jpg" alt="Sandeep Lamichhane" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-334663" class="wp-caption-text">Sandeep Lamichhane. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sandeep Lamichhane and Lalit Yadav.&nbsp;
Though the spin-attack of the Delhi-based franchise is small, it is lethal with lots of experience among them. The trio of Mishra, Ashwin and Axar have more than 350 wickets in the IPL. With these three in their squad Delhi Capitals will be looking to make use of the UAE pitches the best.
Axar Patel and Amit Mishra have been consistent performers for the Capitals and having Ashwin in the squad will be an added bonus to the franchise who are looking to register their first IPL win under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy.
The Capitals also have the services of Nepalese leg-spinner, Sandeep Lamichhane, this season, who can turn the course of the match with his mystery leg spin. Sandeep might also struggle to get a place in the playing XI owing to the four-foreign-player policy. Due to their odds to leak runs in the middle-overs of games, they are kept fifth in the list.

<h3>4) Sunrisers Hyderabad (8/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_333640" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-333640" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-333640" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rashid-Khan-1.jpg" alt="Rashid Khan" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-333640" class="wp-caption-text">Rashid Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Shahbaz Nadeem, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Bavanaka, Fabian Allen and Abdul Samad.
Sunrisers’ bowling atatck is one of the best in the season and coming to their spin-department, they have the No.1 T20 bowler, Rashid Khan in their squad. They also have the services of Rashid’s national teammate, Mohammad Nabi, who was in a terrific form in the recently-concluded CPL.
The Hyderabad-based franchise don’t have depth in their Indian spin-options despite having four Indian spinners in their squad. Shahbaz Nadeem is the lone experienced spinner in the squad and his poor performances with the ball will be a concern for the team management. The Punjab all-rounder, Abhishek Sharma, is an exciting option for SRH and is expected to play in important role in his team’s journey this year.
They also have Fabian Allen as a back-up for Nabi and Rashid. With all three great options, SRH can only play one among them due to their overseas combinations and thus Nabi may end up on the bench for most part of the season. If Hyderabad can play both Nabi and Rashid in the XI, considering the spin-friendly pitches in UAE, they will then have quite a strong chance to win the championship.

<h3>3) Kolkata Knight Riders (8.5/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_247291" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-247291" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-247291" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sunil-Narine.jpg" alt="Sunil Narine" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-247291" class="wp-caption-text">Kolkata Knight Riders’ Sunil Narine in action. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Sunil Narine,&nbsp;Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, M Siddharth, Chris Green and Nitish Rana.
KKR’s spin bowling attack is powerfully packed with the likes of Sunil Narine, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/social-distancing-101-rohit-sharma-interacts-with-kkrs-kuldeep-yadav-and-abhishek-nayar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kuldeep Yadav</a> and Varun Chakravarthy in their squad. The two-time champions are willing to add their third trophy to their vitrine under Dinesh Karthik’s captaincy.
Despite their poor show in the last year’s IPL, KKR’s spin attack is looking lethal with Kuldeep and Narine in their armoury. Narine just had an excellent CPL and is expected to continue his form in the IPL too. On the other hand, Kuldeep has became the go-to-bowler for India in limited-overs cricket in the recent past.
The franchise bought Chris Green and Varun Chakravarthy in the auction, and both could provide a good back-up option to their spin duo. With Nitish Rana expected to play the part-timer’s role, KKR’s spin-unit is looking balanced with both Indian and overseas options.

<h3>2) Royal Challengers Bangalore (9/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_335401" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-335401" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-335401" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Yuzvendra-Chahal-1.jpg" alt="Yuzvendra Chahal" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-335401" class="wp-caption-text">Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: &nbsp;Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi, Washington Sundar, Adam Zampa and Moeen Ali.
Despite having a very strong batting lineup, the Bangalore-based franchise struggled to enter the playoffs in the past three seasons due to their inexperienced bowling lineup. The team management did a pretty decent job in the auction by adding some lethal bowlers to their lineup.
Coming to the spin department of RCB, it is same as last year with the likes of Chahal, Sundar, Moeen and Negi in the squad. Adam Zampa’s inclusion as a replacement of Kane Richardson can turn out to be a very good choice considering the spin friendly tracks in the UAE.
With Chahal and Sundar being regular in the Indian T20 side and with Moeen and Zampa as the foreign options, RCB’s spin department is looking brutal for the first time in the last few years and they are definitely a strong contender to fight for the trophy this year.

<h3>Chennai Super Kings (9.5/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_340709" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-340709" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-340709" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Imran-Tahir-2.jpg" alt="Imran Tahir" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-340709" class="wp-caption-text">Imran Tahir. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Piyush Chawla, R Sai Kishore, Imran Tahir, Ravindra Jadeja, Karn Sharma, Mitchell Santner and Kedar Jadhav.
The Chennai-based franchise is having the best spin attack in the tournament with a variety of options in their squad. Generally, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/crictracker/photos/a.643089012388490/3890415427655816" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chennai</a> will always have a bunch of talented spinners in their group due to the spin tracks at their home ground, Chepauk. Due to this reason CSK will be one step above all the teams in the UAE conditions.
In the auction, Chennai signed Piyush Chawla for a whopping INR 6.75 crores and he is expected to lead the spin department in the absence of Harbhajan Singh, who opted out of the league due to personal reasons. They also have Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner in their squad who can change the course of a match with their all-round abilities.
Imran Tahir, who was the Purple Cap-winner in last season brings the team tons of experience and is expected to be the team’s main overseas option. R Sai Kishore and Karn Sharma can provide additional back-up to the team. With all these variety of options, CSK stand at the top of the list.
~Uday Gurugubelli

The thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick start from September 19th in the UAE. All the eight teams, which are part of this year’s tournament, are keen to lift the IPL trophy in the forthcoming season.
In the auction, all the teams strengthened their squads by ticking the required boxes. While the pacers and the all-rounders attracted heavy bids, many franchises tried to strengthen their spin-attack by shelling out huge amounts.
Considering the spin-friendly tracks in the UAE, teams, having the best spin-attacks, will be having quite a strong chance to taste success in this IPL. So, let us look at the spin-bowling options of each team and rate them according to their strength.
<h3>Here is the rating given to spin attacks of each team on a scale of 10: &#8211;</h3>
<h3>8) Mumbai Indians (6.5/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_341155" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-341155" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-341155" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Chahar.jpg" alt="Rahul Chahar, Mumbai Indians, IPL" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-341155" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Chahar. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav and Anukul Roy.
Mumbai Indians are having the weakest spin-department in this season with no overseas option in their squad. The four Indian spinners in their squad lack in experience and the Mumbai-based franchise can pay a heavy price in this season for their choices in the auction.
While Krunal and Rahul are expected to be a part of the starting XI, they are not the ones on whom teams can hinge on to pick crucial wickets in the middle-overs. The back-up options, Yadav and Roy, don’t have much of an experience either and the impact they make remains to be seen.
After Lasith Malinga’s exist from this IPL, Mumbai should have opted for an overseas spin-bowling option considering the spinning tracks in the UAE, but they chose James Pattinson as the former’s replacement. With no overseas option and lack of Indian experience, Mumbai’s spin-attack stands last on the list.

<h3>7) Rajasthan Royals (7/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_377608" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-377608" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-377608" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Shreyas-Gopal.jpg" alt="Shreyas Gopal" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-377608" class="wp-caption-text">Shreyas Gopal. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Shreyas Gopal, Mayank Markande, Mahipal Lomror, Shashank Singh, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, and Anirudha Joshi.
Just like Mumbai Indians, the Jaipur-based franchise also lack in overseas spin bowlers on whom the team can rely this season. The Royals traded in Mayank Markande from Mumbai before the auction in December 2019. But too much of leg-spin can be a problem for them in the coming IPL.
Shreyas Gopal, who took a hat-trick in the last season, is expected to lead the spin-unit of the team this season. Mayank’s poor form in the last season can be a concern for the Royals as he is the only spinner in the lineup, who has played an international game for India.
The Royals&#8217; spin-attack weakened when they traded Krishnappa Gowtham to KXIP before the auction. Although they bought Joshi in the auction, he too doesn’t own much experience. Young all-rounder Riyan Parag is a player to watch for in the Royals&#8217; squad this season. With Gopal being the best spinner in the squad, RR are placed just above MI in the list.

<h3>6) Kings XI Punjab (7.5/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_243635" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-243635" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-243635" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman-1.jpg" alt="Mujeeb Ur Rahman" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-243635" class="wp-caption-text">Mujeeb Ur Rahman of KXIP celebrates a wicket. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Glenn Maxwell, J. Suchith, Harpreet Brar, Ravi Bishnoi, Tajinder Dhillon, Murugan Ashwin, Krishnappa Gowtham and Deepak Hooda.
With KL Rahul captaining their team for the first time, KXIP are looking forward to adding their maiden IPL trophy to their cabinet. Coming to their spin attack, the Punjab-based franchise is lacking in Indian experience but has some young players to look up to in their squad. Ravi Bishnoi is one of the U19 players to look out for in this IPL. He can play a crucial role in Punjab’s campaign this season.
Despite trading out their skipper Ravi Ashwin to DC ahead of the auction, KXIP still managed to build a decent spin-bowling attack ahead of this season. They traded in Karnataka’s all-rounder K. Gowtham to their squad. Gowtham was a consistent performer with the ball for the Royals in 2018 edition of the league.
Afghanistan off-spinner Mujeeb and the Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell are fairly strong options for the Punjab-based franchise this season. They both bring in a lot of experience to the bowling department and are expected to lead the spin department along with the young sensation Bishnoi.

<h3>5) Delhi Capitals (8/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_334663" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-334663" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-334663" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sandeep-Lamichhane.jpg" alt="Sandeep Lamichhane" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-334663" class="wp-caption-text">Sandeep Lamichhane. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sandeep Lamichhane and Lalit Yadav. 
Though the spin-attack of the Delhi-based franchise is small, it is lethal with lots of experience among them. The trio of Mishra, Ashwin and Axar have more than 350 wickets in the IPL. With these three in their squad Delhi Capitals will be looking to make use of the UAE pitches the best.
Axar Patel and Amit Mishra have been consistent performers for the Capitals and having Ashwin in the squad will be an added bonus to the franchise who are looking to register their first IPL win under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy.
The Capitals also have the services of Nepalese leg-spinner, Sandeep Lamichhane, this season, who can turn the course of the match with his mystery leg spin. Sandeep might also struggle to get a place in the playing XI owing to the four-foreign-player policy. Due to their odds to leak runs in the middle-overs of games, they are kept fifth in the list.

<h3>4) Sunrisers Hyderabad (8/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_333640" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-333640" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-333640" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rashid-Khan-1.jpg" alt="Rashid Khan" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-333640" class="wp-caption-text">Rashid Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Shahbaz Nadeem, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Bavanaka, Fabian Allen and Abdul Samad.
Sunrisers&#8217; bowling atatck is one of the best in the season and coming to their spin-department, they have the No.1 T20 bowler, Rashid Khan in their squad. They also have the services of Rashid&#8217;s national teammate, Mohammad Nabi, who was in a terrific form in the recently-concluded CPL.
The Hyderabad-based franchise don’t have depth in their Indian spin-options despite having four Indian spinners in their squad. Shahbaz Nadeem is the lone experienced spinner in the squad and his poor performances with the ball will be a concern for the team management. The Punjab all-rounder, Abhishek Sharma, is an exciting option for SRH and is expected to play in important role in his team’s journey this year.
They also have Fabian Allen as a back-up for Nabi and Rashid. With all three great options, SRH can only play one among them due to their overseas combinations and thus Nabi may end up on the bench for most part of the season. If Hyderabad can play both Nabi and Rashid in the XI, considering the spin-friendly pitches in UAE, they will then have quite a strong chance to win the championship.

<h3>3) Kolkata Knight Riders (8.5/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_247291" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-247291" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-247291" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sunil-Narine.jpg" alt="Sunil Narine" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-247291" class="wp-caption-text">Kolkata Knight Riders&#8217; Sunil Narine in action. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, M Siddharth, Chris Green and Nitish Rana.
KKR’s spin bowling attack is powerfully packed with the likes of Sunil Narine, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/social-distancing-101-rohit-sharma-interacts-with-kkrs-kuldeep-yadav-and-abhishek-nayar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kuldeep Yadav</a> and Varun Chakravarthy in their squad. The two-time champions are willing to add their third trophy to their vitrine under Dinesh Karthik’s captaincy.
Despite their poor show in the last year’s IPL, KKR’s spin attack is looking lethal with Kuldeep and Narine in their armoury. Narine just had an excellent CPL and is expected to continue his form in the IPL too. On the other hand, Kuldeep has became the go-to-bowler for India in limited-overs cricket in the recent past.
The franchise bought Chris Green and Varun Chakravarthy in the auction, and both could provide a good back-up option to their spin duo. With Nitish Rana expected to play the part-timer&#8217;s role, KKR’s spin-unit is looking balanced with both Indian and overseas options.

<h3>2) Royal Challengers Bangalore (9/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_335401" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-335401" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-335401" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Yuzvendra-Chahal-1.jpg" alt="Yuzvendra Chahal" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-335401" class="wp-caption-text">Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options:  Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi, Washington Sundar, Adam Zampa and Moeen Ali.
Despite having a very strong batting lineup, the Bangalore-based franchise struggled to enter the playoffs in the past three seasons due to their inexperienced bowling lineup. The team management did a pretty decent job in the auction by adding some lethal bowlers to their lineup.
Coming to the spin department of RCB, it is same as last year with the likes of Chahal, Sundar, Moeen and Negi in the squad. Adam Zampa&#8217;s inclusion as a replacement of Kane Richardson can turn out to be a very good choice considering the spin friendly tracks in the UAE.
With Chahal and Sundar being regular in the Indian T20 side and with Moeen and Zampa as the foreign options, RCB’s spin department is looking brutal for the first time in the last few years and they are definitely a strong contender to fight for the trophy this year.

<h3>Chennai Super Kings (9.5/10)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_340709" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-340709" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-340709" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Imran-Tahir-2.jpg" alt="Imran Tahir" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-340709" class="wp-caption-text">Imran Tahir. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
Their spin bowling options: Piyush Chawla, R Sai Kishore, Imran Tahir, Ravindra Jadeja, Karn Sharma, Mitchell Santner and Kedar Jadhav.
The Chennai-based franchise is having the best spin attack in the tournament with a variety of options in their squad. Generally, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/crictracker/photos/a.643089012388490/3890415427655816" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chennai</a> will always have a bunch of talented spinners in their group due to the spin tracks at their home ground, Chepauk. Due to this reason CSK will be one step above all the teams in the UAE conditions.
In the auction, Chennai signed Piyush Chawla for a whopping INR 6.75 crores and he is expected to lead the spin department in the absence of Harbhajan Singh, who opted out of the league due to personal reasons. They also have Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner in their squad who can change the course of a match with their all-round abilities.
Imran Tahir, who was the Purple Cap-winner in last season brings the team tons of experience and is expected to be the team’s main overseas option. R Sai Kishore and Karn Sharma can provide additional back-up to the team. With all these variety of options, CSK stand at the top of the list.
~Uday Gurugubelli

Spin-bowling is expected to play a major role on slow and low decks in the UAE.

IPL 2020: Rating the spin-attacks of all the eight teams

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