Mumbai: Wrist-spinners have become the toast of the IPL XI so much so that a successful off-spinner like Ravichandran Ashwin, too, has been keen to try bowling leg breaks, feels Kapil Dev.
"Everybody has a different bowling attack, depending on which pitch they are playing. But what we have come to know from the first or second IPL (till) now, is that the most successful bowler to come out is the leg-spinner," Kapil Dev said here.
The 1983 World Cup-winning captain spoke on the sidelines of a live cricket comedy show. "Every team has its leg-spinner. Even a bowler like (Ravichandran) Ashwin, he likes to bowl more leg spin than off spin. That shows the leg-spinners are more successful than anybody else," Kapil said to buttress his point.
Ashwin is leading Kings XI Punjab, after having turned out for Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiants in past editions. In IPL XI, leg-spinners have been largely successful with Mumbai Indians' rookie Mayank Markande shining in the first three games for his franchise.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, too, have a good leg-spinner in Rashid Khan of Afghanistan, while his compatriot Mujeeb-ur Rahman is also a wrist spinner who plays under Ashwin.
Even the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore possess a successful leggie in Yuzvendra Chahal. Quizzed why leg spinners are more successful, Kapil said, "Can't really put a reason, but that is a wicket- taking bowler. It is not easy to read them and every team loves to have a leg spinner."
The 59-year-old former cricket pointed out how a leggie like Karn Sharma had edged out experienced offie Harbhajan Singh for CSK v Rajasthan Royals on Friday.
"Karn is playing, not Harbhajan (Singh), so Chennai is playing with two leg-spinners (the other being Imran Tahir). So everybody is there with an extra leg-spinner. I think that is where in spinners you don't see so many off-spinners, you don't see left-arm spinners so much, but you see leg spinners definitely," Kapil added.
He also praised Markande, who had bamboozled CSK at the Wankhede the other day."He (Markande) is good and if you are a good leg spinner, it always adds on to the team," Kapil said.
