TRUST THE WRIST

By Team SportsMechanics

Only top 10 out of the 18 ICC ranked team stats for last 2 years are considered in this feature.

The one common perception that every so called ‘pundit’ keeps repeating is how much of a rare commodity the wrist spinners are. The numbers do suggest the same as there have been 58 finger spinners as opposed to a mere 23 wrist spinners in the last 2 years in T20Is. But have wrist spinners outperformed finger spinners in T20I’s or is it a misconception? Let the numbers do the talking.

In the last two years, 2 wrist spinners have dominated the batsmen as shown in the graphic. Rashid Khan from Afghanistan and Imran Tahir from South Africa, whose ages are in the ratio of 1:2 have clearly outperformed the finger spinners in the recent years, having picked up almost 70 wickets between them.

Not just the two of them, but wrist spinners overall have had the upper hand over finger spinners. The 23 wrist spinners have taken 42% of wickets while the remaining 58% of wickets are shared by a much larger group of 58 finger spinners.

Another cricketing myth is that wrist spinners do get you wickets but they leak runs. Once again, let’s lean towards the numbers.

The following table shows the bowlers with the best strike rates in T20I with a minimum of 10 wickets in the last 2 years. The top 6 spinners with the best strike rate are wrist spinners.

So yes, they get you wickets. In fact, they get you wickets quicker than the finger spinners. But, here is the interesting part. In terms of runs conceded, they are more economical than finger spinners, as evidenced by the following stats.

The 2 teams which have relied heavily on wrist spinners in the last 2 years are Australia and South Africa. Australian wrist spinners have claimed 73% of the wickets taken by their spinners while South African wrist spinners have taken almost 70% thanks to some stellar contribution from Imran Tahir (30 wickets) and Adam Zampa (16 wickets). The teams which have relied less on wrist spinners are Sri Lanka (34.69%), India (31.76%) and Bangladesh (12.50%).

Thinking beyond international T20s, when we consider the top performing spinners in different T20 leagues across the globe, wrist spinners like Rashid Khan (14 wickets), Usama Mir (12 wickets) and Imran Tahir (18 wickets) have been the leading wicket takers in Carribean Premier League, Pakistan Super League and Indian Premier League respectively.

If you ever wondered why top performers like R Ashwin and R Jadeja (finger spinners) are not in the reckoning in the limited overs set-up for national team, the above numbers will prove a point. Virat Kohli and the Indian team management must have had an inkling of this emerging trend probably festering belief in the likes of Y Chahal and K Yadav (wrist spinners).

Not just in the Indian team, but proven finger spinners like Nathon Lyon, Ashton Agar (both from Australia), Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka), Sulieman Benn (West Indies) and Aaron Phangiso (South Africa) are finding it difficult to get chances in the national set-up due to the recent emergence of wrist spinners in T20I.