Young Googlies- The Leg Spin Brigade

Young Googlies- The Leg Spin Brigade: Leg spin has been and will continue to remain one of the most fascinating aspects of our beloved sport. In the past cricket fans, have revelled in the sight of a leg spinner showcasing his craft. The game has seen some extraordinary exponents of leg spinners over the years in the likes of, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Abdul Qadir, Bhagwat Chandrashekar and Mushtaq Ahmed to name a few. In recent times world cricket has seen emergence of some talented leg spinners who are expected to keep the art of leg spin alive in times to come. We look at emerging leg spinners from different international teams. 1. Fawad Ahmed (Australia): (Photo Source: Getty Images) Fawad Ahmed’s is an interesting story, hailing from Pakistan he has debuted in international cricket for Australia on the basis of some impressive performances in the Big Bash league for the Melbourne Renegades. Fawad is an intelligent operator having a very effective straighter one along with the stock ball. He is an emerging talent to look forward to who has the potential to be a match winner for the Aussies. MATCHES WKTS BBI AVE ECON SR 5W ODI 3 3 1/39 48.33 6.04 48.0 0 T20 2 3 3/25 22.66 8.50 16.0 0 1ST CLASS 37 127 8/89 30.23 3.46 52.3 6 2. Imran Tahir (South Africa): Tahir is not a big turner of the ball, but he knows his strengths and weaknesses and bowls within the line of attack. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Imran Tahir has emerged as the answer for South Africa’s long lasting problems in the spin department. He has not only played a supporting role in a much famed pace bowling attack but also managed to lead the attack with his wicket taking habits. Whenever there is some assistance from the pitch, especially in the shorter formats, his control and variations have proved lethal. Tahir’s attitude towards the game has been for everyone to see and his celebratory run after picking a wicket has been embraced by one and all. Besides possessing a very orthodox action he has the googly in his arsenal, making him a complete bowler. MATCHES WKTS BBI AVE ECON SR 5W TESTS 16 43 5/32 46.39 3.56 78.0 1 ODI 38 70 5/45 20.51 4.35 28.20 1 T20 16 25 4/21 14.68 6.22 14.10 0 3. Yuzuvendra Chahal (India): Yuzvendra Chahal RCB. (Photo Source: BCCI) IPL has the tagline- “Where Talent meets opportunity”, Yuzvendra Chahal is well and truly the product of the IPL, in a format where spinners are expected to go for plenty of runs he has a good economy rate and picks regular wickets due to his tendency to flight the ball instead of bowling quicker through the air. Playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore under Virat Kohli he has managed to impress one and all. This youngster might prove to be an important weapon for India in coming years especially in limited-overs cricket. MATCHES WKTS BBI AVE ECON SR 5W 1st CLASS 17 32 4/22 40.06 3.41 70.4 0 LIST A 20 21 6/24 23.28 3.98 35.0 1 T20 60 56 3/11 24.32 7.00 20.8 0 4. Ish Sodhi (New Zealand): (Photo Source: AFP) Ish Sodhi (Inderbir Singh Sodhi) born in Punjab shifted to New Zealand at a young age playing club cricket and rising up in the ranks. Sodhi majorly came into the limelight during the 2010 U-19 cricket world cup in Australia. He has got a reputation for turning the ball; extracts extra bounce due his height. Ish Sodhi played for New Zealand for a brief while after which Mark Craig has been preferred over him, although his chances for a comeback are bright because age is on the side for this young leggie. MATCHES WKTS BBI AVE ECON SR 5W TESTS 11 27 4/96 52.81 3.79 83.4 0 T20Is 2 2 1/16 25.50 10.2 15.0 0 1ST CLASS 39 89 5/27 47076 3.83 74.7 3 5. Adil Rashid (England): (Photo Source: Getty Images) This Pakistan born England migrant Yorkshire county player Adil Rashid has been in the headlines ever since he made his debut for Yorkshire, he fulfils the drought of a quality leg spinner English cricket has always faced. His ODI debut was way back in 2009 against Ireland. Adil is not the typical leg spinner but his wicket taking stints in county cricket and England U-19 team has created a lot of expectations. MATCHES WKTS BBI AVE ECON SR 5W ODIs 7 7 4/55 35.14 5.59 37.7 0 T20 5 3 1/11 40.00 8.57 28.0 0 1st CLASS 134 392 7/107 34.18 3.52 58.10 18 6. Devendra Bishoo (England): (Photo Source: Getty Images) After Lance Gibbs, Bishoo is the only consistent leg spinner to have played for the West Indies. He first caught the eye of the cricket fraternity in the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Devendra Bishoo recently was in the headlines to deliver the ball of the 21st century to Australia’s Brad Haddin (A delivery that turned from 18 inches outside leg stump to hit the top of off) in the 1st test between West Indies and Australia; he bowled a ball similar to that of Shane Warne against Mike Gatting in 1993. Bishoo clearly possesses a lot of control over his leg breaks and after his comeback looks a lot more lethal. MATCHES WKTS BBI AVE ECON SR 5W TESTS 13 50 6/80 37.42 3.12 71.9 2 ODIs 13 20 3/34 23.80 4.28 33.30 0 T20Is 4 6 4/17 16.33 6.25 15.60 0 7. Seekkuge Prasanna (Sri Lanka): (Photo Source: Getty Images) After producing a plethora of mystery spinners and some very unorthodox spinners, Sri Lanka has a traditional leg spinner in its rank “Seekkuge Prasanna” giving them another variety in their bowling attack. Prasanna has played both ODIs and T20Is for Sri Lanka with some success. He can bat in the lower order too. Coming to his leg spin he possesses a round arm action, does not turn the ball a great deal and bowls the googly well, often foxing the batsmen with it. Although it can be said that he has not had the best of starts to his career, we can expect Prasanna, to do better given his abilities. MATCHES WKTS BBI AVE ECON SR 5W TESTS 1 0 – – 3.47 – 0 ODIs 24 22 3/32 47.00 5.19 54.30 0 T20Is 3 3 2/45 22.00 11.00 12.00 0 8. Yasir Shah (Pakistan): (Photo Source: Getty Images) After Abdul Qadir and Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistan have produced another quality leg spinner in Yasir Shah, he played his debut series in the UAE against Australia and performed well, also impressing Shane Warne, who praised his action and attitude. Yasir looks like a traditional leg spinner having the right pivot, producing side spin and having a very good flipper, probably he is the closest to Shane Warne among the spinners currently playing the game. MATCHES WKTS BBI AVE ECON SR 5W TESTS 7 37 5/79 28.37 3.35 50.7 1 ODIs 5 4 2/40 46.50 5.47 51.0 0 T20Is 2 0 – – 9.75 – 0 Quick Link : Mohammad Azharuddin, The Villainous Super Hero of Indian Cricket

	MATCHES	WKTS	BBI	AVE	ECON	SR	5W
TESTS	7	37	5/79	28.37	3.35	50.7	1
ODIs	5	4	2/40	46.50	5.47	51.0	0
T20Is	2	0	–	–	9.75	–	0

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Young Googlies- The Leg Spin Brigade

8. Yasir Shah (Pakistan):

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