“T20 cricket at the Kia Oval” by EEPaul is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
It is time for ‘Scenario Saturday #4’!
Today, we shift format to the T20 arena.
Professional T20 cricket started in 2003, and it was assumed that it would be a graveyard for spin bowlers.
While they were seen as match winners and weapons for their captains in Test cricket, spinners were looked upon as easy prey for batters only looking to hit 4s and 6s.
Boy, were we all wrong.
As of September 2024, there are 4 spin bowlers in the top 5 all-time wicket takers across all T20 cricket.
Of these 4 spin bowlers, 2 continue to stand above the rest: Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan.
Here is a quick snapshot of their bowling stats (as of 14 September 2024):
- Economy rate: Narine 6.12, Khan 6.48
- Total wickets: Narine 565, Khan 613
- 4-wicket hauls: Narine 12, Khan 15
In addition, both are skilled with the bat.
Narine has carved out a niche at the top of the order in franchise cricket, while Khan’s cameos and final-over flourishes have finished games for his side.
Icon attributions:
West Indies Cricket Board Flag icon made by Icons8 <a target=”_blank” href=”https://icons8.com/icon/JakrjGGiHx2F/west-indies-cricket-board-flag”>West Indies Cricket Board Flag</a> icon by <a target=”_blank” href=”https://icons8.com”>Icons8</a>
Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com <a href=”https://www.flaticon.com/free-icons/afghanistan” title=”afghanistan icons”>Afghanistan icons created by Freepik – Flaticon</a>
DISCLAIMER
The posts published on this blog are intended simply to provide some food for thought for fellow cricket fans across the world. This is a place which respects and enjoys all cricketers from all nations and, as such, does NOT aim to solely vilify any specific person or team.
Differing opinions and lively debates are more than welcome. However, personal attacks and abuse of any kind will NOT be tolerated here.
Thanks for your understanding.