Spinner's Role In Twenty20

A clean action fused with clearer thinking can help spinners flourish and they do have a role to play​ in Twenty20. They will get hammered at times but like the Minions in the children’s movies, they keep coming back with renewed vigour.

- K.C. Vijaya Kumar

The tiresome cliche associated with cricket, across formats, is that it is a batsman’s game. And when you truncate games to its almost finite avatar — the Twenty20 — that stereotype gets further strengthened.

But sport, just like life, cannot be pigeon-holed into fixed slots. And there is always a reality check. Like when you switched on the television to check out the latest Twenty20 International in Ranchi with the Sri Lankans chasing India’s 196, what is the image that flickers bright? R. Ashwin opening the bowling for M. S. Dhoni’s men!

A spinner was burdened with the two-pronged task of choking and scything and it is to Ashwin’s credit that he delivered on both counts.

The off-spinner’s 4-0-14-3, including the prized scalp of Tillakaratne Dilshan, strangled the visitor and so ironically in a contest presumed to be the willow wielder’s turf, Ashwin and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja had their decisive moments.

This is not to subvert the whole Twenty20 universe into a spinners’ fortress analysis. The abridged version still hinges on massive sixes, that the likes of Chris Gayle dish out, and its marketing visuals are often clued into batting heroics, tumbling catches and cartwheeling stumps, courtesy a yorker. Yet, there is no denying the important role that a spinner plays in the Twenty20.

Cast a glance at the ICC player rankings and in the Twenty20 segment, the top five among bowlers are all spinners — Sunil Narine, Ashwin, Shahid Afridi, Sachithra Senanayake and Zimbabwean Graeme Cremer.

If the rankings are a reflection of performance, take the IPL player auction for instance and even there in terms of the perception battle, it is the spinners, who emerged on top.