All posts tagged: Spin bowling

What Manav Suthar’s arrival does to Kuldeep Yadav’s chances in Test team

What Manav Suthar’s arrival does to Kuldeep Yadav’s chances in Test team

Published by Webster

Buried in India’s squad for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, announced on Tuesday, was a familiar problem for Kuldeep Yadav, wearing a new face. Alongside the usual talking points, Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness, the continued backing for pace prospect Gurnoor Brar, sat the inclusion of a 23-year-old left-arm orthodox spinner named Manav Suthar. Since his Test debut in 2017, Kuldeep has played a mere 18 matches in nine years. A year ago, previewing a different tour, he spoke with the same quiet confidence conditions now warrant. Entering the World Test Championship cycle as India’s lead spinner ahead of the 2025 tour of England, he waved off any suggestion of added pressure. “It doesn’t create extra pressure. It is just normal,” he told The Indian Express, expecting the conditions there to favour spin. He did not play a single Test on that tour. Sri Lanka should not present the same problem. Its pitches genuinely suit wrist-spin, and left-handers dominate the top of the batting order, conditions closer to what he actually needs than England ever offered …

Why Shreyanka Patil’s injury creates a big hole for India in T20 World Cup

Why Shreyanka Patil’s injury creates a big hole for India in T20 World Cup

Published by Webster

There was little for Harmanpreet Kaur to complain about after India’s commanding 95-run win over the Netherlands. Her side answered her pre-match call to improve in the powerplay with both bat and ball, piled up 209 and then bundled the Dutch out to make it two wins from two at the T20 World Cup. Yet, as she led her side back towards the dressing room at Headingley on Wednesday, one moment would have lingered longer than the result itself. Just one delivery into her spell in the sixth over, Shreyanka Patil chased the ball in her follow-through before twisting her right ankle. Unable to put any weight on the leg, she received lengthy treatment before being stretchered off in a buggy. Having only recently returned from a long injury layoff, it was an unsettling sight.The extent of the injury remains unclear, but it has already complicated India’s planning ahead of Sunday’s meeting with South Africa at Old Trafford. Unlike the Netherlands, South Africa possess the batting depth to expose even minor weaknesses in an attack. …

Why does Irfan Pathan think Kuldeep Yadav might miss out IND vs AFG Test

Why does Irfan Pathan think Kuldeep Yadav might miss out IND vs AFG Test

Published by Webster

2 min readUpdated: Jun 3, 2026 02:12 PM IST India will take on Afghanistan in a one-off Test match in Mullanpur starting from Saturday. The squad includes four spinners: Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey, Kuldeep Yadav and Manav Suthar. In the recent series, India preferred spin-bowling all-rounders over specialist spinners in home conditions. Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan said India will look to continue playing with a similar strategy, which could mean wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav misses out. “Absolutely copy-paste, except on one point, because the Indian team likes to bat till No. 8. That’s how they play. So maybe in place of Kuldeep Yadav, at No. 6, No. 7, and No. 8 – Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Washington Sundar,” Pathan said on the Follow the Blues show. “Harsh Dubey coming at No. 9 and then Gurnoor Brar and one of the fast bowlers, either Siraj or Prasidh Krishna, whichever way they want to go,” Pathan observed. “That focus will be there. When you play against Sri Lanka and other big teams, your experienced …

‘Can’t be hit for a six over square-leg’

‘Can’t be hit for a six over square-leg’

Published by Webster

While Delhi Capitals lost by eight wickets against Kolkata Knight Riders at Delhi on Friday night, it was the sixth time that left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav failed to take any wicket for Delhi Capitals in a match in this IPL season. Yadav, who returned with figures of 41 for 0 in three overs on Friday, went wicket-less for the third successive time in IPL and currently has seven wickets at an average of 50.29 in nine innings this IPL. Former Indian wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta believes Yadav should be bowling ‘fuller’ and should not give away runs with the batsman playing him from the back foot. “My thing with Kuldeep is you can’t be hit for a six over square-leg off a short ball and long-off or long-on. Yes, you will get hit. This is that kind of format. So I would rather have him be hit over mid-off or mid-on down the ground rather than square of the wicket or extra cover. You get hit off the front foot, it’s fair enough. But not …

How MS Dhoni’s advice helped Noor Ahmad deliver a Player of the Match performance against KKR

How MS Dhoni’s advice helped Noor Ahmad deliver a Player of the Match performance against KKR

Published by Webster

3 min readApr 15, 2026 07:00 AM IST Prior to Tuesday’s IPL 2026 outing against Kolkata Knight Riders, Noor Ahmad had endured a tough few months. Since January, he had just one wicket to his name, which came in the previous home match against Delhi Capitals. But on Tuesday, he bounced back to form, picking up 3/21 in four overs in Chennai Super Kings’ 32-run win over Kolkata and walked away with the Player of the Match award for his spell. On a pitch that assisted the spinners, Noor didn’t try anything extraordinary. And more importantly, didn’t overuse his googly and relied on the one that comes back into the right-hander. As he roared back to form, CSK’s bowling coach Sridharan Sriram credited MS Dhoni for having a crucial chat with Noor, where the former captain emphasised not to overuse the googly. “I think it was good, the wicket helped today. There was a little bit of help for him. The other wickets were quite flat. Today, I think he was a little bit slower …

‘If he wants to open…his approach will have to change’

‘If he wants to open…his approach will have to change’

Published by Webster

2 min readUpdated: Apr 14, 2026 06:23 PM IST Against the Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 15 runs from 18 balls. Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan opined that Gaikwad should take the number three slot if he is willing to approach his innings in this manner going forward in the season. “Ruturaj Gaikwad’s batting approach definitely needs attention. If his approach in the last match is considered, he faced 17 balls and his control percentage was excellent. It means he did not take much risk and was not looking to play too aggressively. He did not want to lose his wicket. Then just play at number three. If he wants to continue with this approach, he should bat at No. 3. But if he wants to open, then as Ruturaj Gaikwad, his approach will have to change,” said Pathan on his YouTube channel. Gaikwad has also been going through a poor run of form in the ongoing season so far, and another former Indian cricketer, Sadagoppan Ramesh, attributed it to the …

R Ashwin slams Hardik Pandya’s tactical calls in MI’s defeat to RCB in IPL 2026:

R Ashwin slams Hardik Pandya’s tactical calls in MI’s defeat to RCB in IPL 2026:

Published by Webster

3 min readApr 13, 2026 11:15 AM IST Mumbai Indians’ decision to bank on spin against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru who have at least a couple of slow-bowling devourers backfired heavily at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday night. Former India off-spinner R Ashwin slammed Hardik and MI’s tactical decisions to feed spin to RCB skipper Rajat Patidar whose swashbuckling fifty pivoted the game away from MI’s control. Drafting in Mitchell Santner and leg-spinner Mayank Markande back into the playing XI at the expense of an additional seamer, captain Hardik Pandya opted to bowl first before a mountain of runs buried the hosts to their third straight defeat. ALSO READ | If Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal won’t get you, Phil Salt and Rajat Patidar would…what makes RCB a deadly batting firm As Patidar – arguably the best batter against spin in the league – walked in to bat at No. 3 in the 11th over, Hardik immediately turned to leggie Markande who was taken to the cleaners. Ashwin slammed the odd decision from the five-time …

‘I am someone who follows my gut’

‘I am someone who follows my gut’

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4 min readMumbaiApr 13, 2026 08:02 AM IST Bouncers are usually bowled by fast bowlers, so it’s rare to see a spinner use one in T20 cricket. But with batters dominating and innovation becoming more important, Krunal Pandya has started using the surprise bouncer to keep ahead of the game. The RCB all-rounder, who used the short ball ploy during his spell of 1/26 against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, mentioned that the Impact Player rule had played a role in him using the bouncers to try to contain the batter from taking him on. “I have never shied away from trying different and new things. Because if you see with the impact player rule, previously, without an impact player, you had a number six all-rounder, a number seven all-rounder. Batsmanship was quite different, but now having 8 pure batters, plus the skill set. You see the young boys like Mukul, Vaibhav, so many of them are just coming and hitting from ball one consistently.” ALSO READ | If Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal won’t get …

Former India pacer slams Chennai Super Kings bowler’s poor form in IPL 2026

Former India pacer slams Chennai Super Kings bowler’s poor form in IPL 2026

Published by Webster

3 min readApr 6, 2026 09:09 PM IST Chennai Super Kings have endured a torrid patch early on in the IPL 2026 season, with three defeats exposing a chunk of problems within the five-time champions’ squad. While the inexperience of the bowling attack and the collective failures of the top order stars have hurt CSK big time, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan picked the failure of a marquee signing as the key reason behind CSK’s early setback. The former T20 World Cup winner observed that the indifferent form of wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad has rendered CSK’s spin department ineffective, exemplified during the 43-run hammering against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday night. The 21-year-old left-arm spinner was taken to the cleaners by the RCB batters, finishing with figures of 0/49 in four overs as the hosts piled on a whopping 250 on the board, their highest-ever score against CSK across 18 years. The Afghanistan spinner has yet to pick up a wicket in three games, worsening CSK’s woes with the ball. Besides …

As Sanju Samson begins a new IPL chapter as CSK’s opener after World Cup success, a breakdown of numbers that capture a paradox

As Sanju Samson begins a new IPL chapter as CSK’s opener after World Cup success, a breakdown of numbers that capture a paradox

Published by Webster

5 min readMar 27, 2026 06:22 PM IST Systemic backing has long eluded Sanju Samson. A record-breaking knockout blast during India’s T20 World Cup could make amends in that regard, but few Indian careers capture a paradox like Samson’s T20I-IPL duality. For all the missed opportunities this decade – where Samson could have had a rightful shot at nearly every Indian T20I squad – he had deftly built a transformation from number three in the IPL since 2020. His biceps firming up to complement his finesse, Samson stands as the most successful number three in the IPL in the last six years. Yet, it was a position he was least favoured for in the India blues. For his best number in the IPL, Samson has featured in just five T20Is out of 62 at number three for India, and never in consecutive games. Since 2020, Samson (1952 in 60 innings) is well clear of the next-best No. 3, his India captain Suryakumar Yadav (1407 in 46). Curiously, Samson’s record-breaking blast as an opener en route …