Rahul Chahar
Mumbai Indians (MI) leg-spinner Rahul Chahar was impressive in the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) because people could not analyse him, says former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan.
Chahar bagged 11 wickets in seven matches to finish fourth in the wicket-takers' list in the tournament truncated due to Covid-19 pandemic.
"Chahar was more impressive in his role because people were not able to analyse him that much. Chahar was definitely very gutsy, large-hearted -- all the ingredients that a leg spinner needs -- and more importantly, [he was] not afraid of getting hit. His body language looked good," wrote Sivaramakrishnan in his column on cricket.com
Chahar, from Bharatpur in Rjasthan, was the top wicket taker among spinners who bowled in IPL-14, taking wickets at a strike rate of 15.27 and an economy of 7.21.
More than his wicket-taking ability, Chahar, 21, did not allow rival batsmen to play freely and had an even better showing than SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) spinner from Afghanistan Rashid Khan, who took 10 wickets with a strike rate of 16.80 in the seven matches.
Sivaramakrishnan, who took 26 wickets in nine Tests between 1983 and 1986, said that he was disappointed to see some exceptionally talented spinners like Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal unable to impress.
"Nothing really pained me more than witnessing the fall of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. The duo was very successful in the early part of their career. Batsmen were not aware of what they were bowling but now they have been found out. There are computer analysts with every team to help batsmen study bowlers," he explained.
Sivaramakrishnan felt that to be successful consistently at the highest level like the Kumbles, Muralitharans and Warnes, one needs to "keep developing different deliveries" in their careers.
