IPL 2025: Piyush Chawla highlights teams with best spin departments
What's the story
As the excitement builds for IPL 2025, veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has picked the spin departments of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and the Mumbai Indians (MI) as the strongest.
Speaking exclusively to IANS, he praised CSK's team, saying, "Chennai's spin bowling department looks really good. If we talk about Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Noor Ahmed, I think Chennai is looking good."
He further highlighted the strengths of MI and KKR lauding their spin attack.
Here's more.
Spin strength
Chawla lauds KKR and MI's spin departments
As mentioned, Chawla also praised KKR's spin department, noting the experience of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy.
He said, "Then we can talk about KKR because Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy are both very experienced spinners."
Despite a setback with Allah Ghazanfar's injury, he lauded MI's spin department for their resilience.
"If we go to Mumbai Indians...the form in which Mitchell Santner is in and Mujeeb Ur Rahman coming as Allah's replacements," he added.
Weaknesses
Chawla identifies RCB and RR's spin departments as weak
When asked about weaker spin departments, Chawla highlighted Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR).
He raised concerns over RCB's lack of experience in Suyash Sharma.
"If we look at RCB, it looks a little weak, as Suyash Sharma doesn't have much experience," he said.
About RR, he said they are heavily dependent on overseas spinners like Wanindu Hasaranga or Maheesh Theekshana.
"There are a lot dependent on overseas spinners, be it Wanindu Hasaranga or Maheesh Theekshana," he added.
Spin preference
Wrist spinners are like gold in T20 cricket, says Chawla
Chawla also shared his thoughts on franchises preferring wrist-spinners and left-arm spinners over off-spinners these days.
He called wrist spinners "like a goldmine," stressing on their significance in T20 cricket with their wicket-taking ability and variations.
He added, "If you have an experienced wrist spinner, he can bowl you at any stage of the game - power play, middle or death overs."
Selection criteria
Chawla on IPL performances and T20 World Cup selection
Chawla ended by addressing the correlation between IPL performances and selection for India's T20 World Cup team.
He made it clear that it's not just about doing well in the IPL, but performing consistently.
"The spinners who have done well now, whether it's the Champions Trophy or the T20 World Cup...you go for experience, rather than going toward the youngsters," he said.