Three spinners with fast bowler’s mentality

Spinners are always considered very gentle. They rarely do get involved in the heated exchange or give the batters a stare like pacers. However, they are equally important for a team. Notably, the top two highest wicket-takers in Test cricket are spinners, Muttiah Muralitharan (800 wickets) and Shane Warne (708 wickets). 

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Meanwhile, the game has seen some successful spinners who defied the normal convention of bowling slow through the air. They have mostly been quicker and with a flatter trajectory, as if they are pacers in disguise. But this uniqueness has made them quite successful in spite of criticisms from the orthodox community of the game.

Here are three spinners who succeeded with a fast bowler’s mentality.

3. Rashid Khan: Rashid Khan is a modern version of the leg-spin breed. He has uniqueness in all aspects with the ball in hand. Rashid is generally known as a leg-spinner but he defies most of the convention of the art.

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While we have seen most spinners taking a slow stride to the crease before bowling, Rashid rushes in with his run-up. The next thing to notice is that leg-spinners look to beat the batter on a flight, but Rashid is someone who prefers a flatter trajectory. He has only two variations up his sleeve, the conventional leg-spin and the googly. 

But his grip for these two deliveries is of five different types. The most important thing about Rashid’s bowling is the pace at which he bowls. Leg-Spinners generally bowl at an average speed of 80-85 kph. But Rashid’s average bowling speed is 93-95 kph. And like an attacking pace bowler, Rashid is always looking for wickets. With his speed and attacking mentality, he seems like a fast-bowler in the spinner’s skin.

2. Shahid Afridi: The ‘ageless’ all-rounder from Pakistan, Shahid Afridi was known to be a potent bowler. Afridi is recorded in the books as a leg-spinner, but he was completely different from the general perception of what an ideal leg-spinner should be.

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Afridi generally bowls at an average speed of about 90-95 kph. He also holds the record for the fastest delivery by a spinner. He bowled a delivery to Tim Southee in an ODI which clocked 134 kph. His general way of beating a batter is through the unexpected pace, unlike most of the other spinners. Afridi belonging to a nation known for producing fast bowlers turned out to be a spinner with a genuine fast bowler’s mentality.

 1. Anil Kumble: Anil Kumble was the biggest match-winner for India in the last decade of the 20th century. In Indian pitches, Anil Kumble was a genuine threat to even the best batting lineups of the world. He is the highest test wicket-taker for India and also has the rare record of picking up all the 10 wickets of an innings in a Test.

Throughout his career, he was criticized for bowling quickly. But he kept believing in his own abilities and turned out to be a legend of the game. Kumble has also bowled the second quickest delivery by a spinner in the history of cricket. He bowled a 118 kph delivery to English batter Marcus Trescothick. 

With his flippers and straight deliveries, Kumble turned out to be the biggest match-winner for India. In a land of spinners and playing in an era when India lacked quality fast bowlers, Kumble played the role of a spinner with a fast bowler’s mentality.