Success of wrist spinners is down to deception they provide, says Ian Chappell

The Indian wrist spinning duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal wrecked havoc back in January this year as they picked up a total of 33 wickets during the six-match ODI series against South Africa. The duo almost single-handedly destroyed the entire South African batting line-up and earned India a historic series win in the rainbow nation. Former Australian captain - Ian Chappell - in his column for Cricinfo, explained how modern day batsman find it hard to decipher the action of wrist spinners such as Kuldeep and Chahal.

"Wrist spinners are extremely successful in the shorter formats and are being eagerly sought after for the many T20 leagues. Their enormous success is mostly down to the deception they provide, since they are able to turn it from both leg and off with only a minimal change of action. Kuldeep provided a perfect example when he bamboozled both Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root with successive wrong'uns in the opening T20 at Old Trafford.

"The fact that Bairstow - a wicketkeeper by trade - was deceived by the wrong'un is symptomatic of a malaise that is sweeping international batting - a general inability to read wristspinners," wrote Chappell.

The immense success of Afghan teenage prodigy Rashid Khan was another indication of the impact of wrist spinners in the shorter format of the game. Chappell also pointed out how their misleading action also meant that batsmen don’t go for the big shots against such bowlers which gives them better economy rates.

"This failing is not only the root cause of wicket loss from mishits but also contributes to a desirable bowling economy rate for the bowlers, as batsmen are hesitant to attack a delivery they are unsure about. This inability to read wrists pinners is mystifying.

"If a batsman watches the ball out of the hand, the early warning signals are available. A legbreak is delivered with the back of the hand turned towards the bowler's face, while with the wrong'un, it's facing the batsman. As a further indicator, the wrong'un, because it's bowled out of the back of the hand, has a slightly loftier trajectory. Final confirmation is provided by the seam position, which is tilted towards first slip for the legspinner, and leg slip for the wrong'un. Any batsman waiting to pick the delivery off the pitch is depriving himself of scoring opportunities and putting his wicket in danger," Chappell added in his column.