The mysterious disappearance of 'mystery spinners' from IPL 2020

Unplayable at times in the 2012 season when Kolkata Knight Riders won the Indian Premier League, Sunil Narine is more of a mortal these days.
Sunil Narine (L) and Varun Chakravarthy. (File photos| PTI)
Sunil Narine (L) and Varun Chakravarthy. (File photos| PTI)

CHENNAI: A tournament that gave the word 'mystery spinners' widespread recognition, is seeing the curve flatten for bowlers who came to be known by that name. They are still plying their trade and commanding big sums at the auctions at times, but the element that separated them from other spinners is gone.

Sunil Narine is perhaps the biggest example. Unplayable at times in the 2012 season when Kolkata Knight Riders won the Indian Premier League, he is more of a mortal these days. Opponents are not as worried about him as they used to be. Economy and strike rate acceptable until 2019, he is going at 8.5 per over this year, with two wickets in four matches. Familiarity has reduced his X-factor and bowlers of his ilk.

The craze about unknown leg-spinners and those who bowl an assortment of off and leg-spin is also fading. Varun Chakravarthy made headlines at the auctions for the 2019 season when he was bought for Rs 8.4 crore.

Teams have not splurged that kind of money on unknown faces since. Demand for the likes of KC Cariappa, Murugan Ashwin has reduced. Gambling with unheard of players like chinaman Shivil Kaushik or teenager Prayas Ray Barman has stopped.

Former spinner Ramesh Powar attributes this to technological assistance and homework done by the support staff. Manoj Tiwary, member of several IPL squads and one of the best batsmen against spin in domestic cricket, offers another take.

According to him, ban on doosra has psychologically affected the bowlers who depended on it and also, some of the pitches have rendered these types of bowlers ineffective. "What was previously perceived as unknown has become known. Everything a bowler does is studied and it gets passed onto coaches who devise methods for their players. There is so much of information exchange and video footage that the surprise element doesn't last long. Back room staff play a big role in decoding this mystery," said Powar.

The off-spinner form Mumbai who played two Tests and 31 ODIs also thinks batsmen have become smarter. "If you notice, they don't commit while playing spinners these days. There are some who jump out to the pitch of the ball. Most of them hang back and play on the back foot. They watch the hand and play off the pitch. Sometimes, teams can afford to play out a bowler for 24 runs in four overs without losing a wicket to him and target others," he said.

Wriddhiman Saha displayed in the 2014 final that Narine can be made to look ordinary if batsmen played him from inside the crease, after seeing which way the ball is turning instead of committing to the front foot and getting beaten by the turn.

It has become some kind of a norm since, as more and more batsmen are using the depth of the crease to play spin. This is not what they were taught. They had to work on it to succeed in the T20 scheme of things.

Tiwary feels pitches and other factors have also played a part. "Mystery spinner is one who bowls the carrom ball and bowls the wrong one from the same action. After pitches at Eden Gardens stopped being as dry and slow as they used to be say five years ago, Narine has become less effective. Doosra gone and knuckle ball not turning due to the pitches, he is left with one option which is off-spin. Varun, the only other bowler who can be called a mystery spinner, is slower through the air which makes his knuckle ball easier to read. Obviously, batsmen getting familiar with the tricks has played a part."

Tiwary also thinks for these spinners to be successful, they have to be handled differently. "If what used to work stops working, be different. Captains have to utilise them properly. Bring in Narine after the first six overs. Don't give Varun the 19th over. But if pitches get slower in the second half of the IPL in the UAE, these spinners may become more useful."

That may turn out to be the case. Pitches becoming slower will certainly redeem the spinners. Whether that will bring back the X-factor of a certain breed of spinners is another matter. 

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