NEW CHANDIGARH: For the longest time, one question that kept coming back every season of the Indian Premier League. Why are Mitchell Santner and R Sai Kishore not playing regularly? There were other forms of the same question as well. What more do they have to do to deserve a place in the playing XI? How are they not bowling four overs every game?
The questions did not come without reason. Any format, any tournament, any opponent, you watch either of them take the field and roll their arms, they made a difference. Santner more internationally and Sai Kishore domestically. In the IPL, however, they were not even getting on the field.
The biggest reason, at least until two years ago, was that they were with Chennai Super Kings. The five-time champions had the services of Santner for five years — from 2019 till 2024 — and Sai Kishore for two years – 2020 and 2021. With Ravindra Jadeja in the team, it was understandable that Chennai were not keen on playing two left-arm orthodox spinners. While they did not make use of them, CSK were also ensuring that the other teams did not have them in their arsenal.
Till the beginning of the 2025 season, Santner had played just 18 games, with the highest being six games in 2022. Sai Kishore, meanwhile, had played just ten games – all for Gujarat Titans, who picked him in 2022. Last year, Sai Kishore’s season came to a stop because of a freak injury while playing golf. That all changed significantly this year.
As five-time champions Mumbai Indians and the 2022 season winners face each other in the eliminator at the New PCA Stadium on Friday, it is hard to believe that they will be in the playoffs without Santner and Sai Kishore, For a team who have seldom relied on spinners, especially in recent years, Mumbai have turned to Santner this season. The New Zealander has responded in kind.
In contrast to the last five seasons, Santner has already played 11 games, taking nine wickets while giving away just 7.89 runs per over. Having won just one game in their first five, MI started turning things around when Santner took the crucial wicket of Karun Nair who had smashed 89 runs off 40 balls. With Karn Sharma taking three, MI beat Delhi Capitals by just 12 runs. That was just the beginning. Since then, Santner has given away more than 30 runs only once – their last league game against Punjab Kings. In fact, it was Santner’s spell of 3/11 against DC in the second half that sealed their playoff spot.
For Gujarat, Sai Kishore has played all 14 games with 17 wickets to show for. Among finger spinners, the TN bowler leads the tally with everyone, except Noor Ahmad, above him are pacers. In many ways, he has been the one keeping the batters in check during middle-overs. Fourteen of his 17 scalps have come in this phase while the remaining three came in the death where he operates at an economy of 9.09. It is not just about taking wickets, but also the consistency he has shown with the ball.
Sai Kishore has taken at least one wicket in 12 of the 14 games he has played so far. He even went on to use a delivery that goes the other way — a carrom ball of sorts – which provided him more dip. "I felt I was confident enough to bowl it in this IPL, so I just went with my instincts. It's like a carrom ball. I get more dip on it, so I don't know what it is. I can call it anything, but I'm just trying to bowl the carrom ball," he said during one of the games. More than anything else, the mere fact that he has outbowled Rashid Khan, who has just nine wickets at an average of 53.66, tells the story.
As GT and MI play each other in a do or die game, Shubman Gill will be looking at Sai Kishore to give his best. Similarly, expect Hardik Pandya to turn to Santner to ensure that his former team does not have the last laugh. What kind of a day these two spinners have could well determine the fortunes of their respective teams on Friday.