Finger and wrist spin: What's the difference?
Well a lot of discussions have taken place on the dominance wrist spinners are enjoying over their finger counterparts. In India, we have seen the rise of two wrist spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. The duo have taken over the reign from finger spinners Ashwin and Jadeja in the limited over-cricket. But, what is the difference between these two forms? We elaborate.
So where does the difference in bowling lie?
Finger spinners often depend on the track for extracting the maximum purchase. Since their grip of the ball generally depends on their fingers, they seek help from the pitch and if the same assists them, they offer a lot of variations. On the other hand, wrist spinners do not depend on a track that much and uses their body-force and wrists to gain success.
Is wrist spin getting the better of the finger-spin?
Well the impact of finger spinners is not done and dusted. We have seen in 2018 Indian Premier League, that finger spinners are still doing a good job. Wrist spin, though, is a weapon for a captain in limited over-format. And teams are preferring wrist spinners largely. In IPL 2018, the likes of Rashid and Kuldeep have used the wrist spin to great effect.
Rashid Khan leading the way as wrist spinner
The Afghanistan youngster is leading the wrist spin army in the modern day limited-over format. His mental strength to deliver in pressure situations consistently has paid dividends. Rashid has shown that using both his fingers and the palm, he can extract a lot on any surface with his wrist joint playing a guiding role. Batsmen often find it difficult to read his variations.
Shane Warne the pioneer of wrist spin
The former Australia legendary leg-spinner was a great advocate of the wrist spin. The bowler always used his right side of the body to great effect besides his wrists. This made him successful across all places. Warne only played T20 cricket in the twilight of his career and won the IPL in 2008. He showed the way for budding wrist spinners.
