Wristspin or mystery spin used to be a bit of novelty in T20 cricket, but it has become a must-have now. Each of the ten teams in IPL 2025 has at least one bowler of this variety in their squad. Kuldeep Yadav and Noor Ahmad, two of the best in the business, got together off the field on Thursday night in Chennai, and will go up against each other on the field on Saturday.
On the eve of the game, the two left-arm wristspinners provided a teaser to the mouth-watering contest. After his press conference, Kuldeep was among the first set of bowlers to bowl to the hard-hitting Jake Fraser-McGurk. The Australia batter had already warmed up by launching a Matheesha Pathirana clone into the stands beyond midwicket. That blow even had some cameramen ducking for cover. When Kuldeep was up against Fraser-McGurk, however, he kept threatening or hitting both the edges. When McGurk tried to pick him off the pitch and play him off the back foot, Kuldeep rushed him with his fizz.
After Kuldeep finished his shift, Noor turned up at the adjacent net and created the same fizz at higher speeds. No Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter wanted to face him. The keeper (not MS Dhoni this time) couldn't read which way Noor was turning the ball. In CSK's season-opener against Mumbai Indians (MI), Noor had even beaten Dhoni with his left-arm legbreak at breakneck speed. Mystery spin at such speed is hard because batters who can't pick the turn can't even adjust to it off the pitch.
That's why wristspinners or mystery spinners are in such demand in T20 cricket. That's why Noor holds the purple cap. That's also why Kuldeep is the most economical bowler this season (for a minimum of 24 balls bowled).
When Kuldeep burst onto the international scene in 2017, the slowness of his wristspin made it difficult for batters to line him up. Three years later, batters evolved and held their shape for long enough to put him away. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) leaned towards Varun Chakravarthy's quicker mystery spin.
After moving to Delhi Capitals (DC), Kuldeep has evolved with T20 cricket. He was always an attacking wristspinner, tossing the ball up and beating batters in the air. Now he's also good at the defensive skills, the increase in his average speed corresponding to a decrease in scoring opportunities. Oppositions still try to take him down but that's now easier said than done. Forty of Kuldeep's 52 wickets since IPL 2022 have come when batters have attempted aggressive shots against him.
"It has become a trend now, playing with a wristspinner," Kuldeep on Friday. "Yeah, you have to stay relevant in every game and you have to practice each and every day. And just to keep working on reading the batters, what they are doing, especially on game day. And that's what I am doing. I am just trying to read the batter, what they are doing, and sticking with my strength and yeah, simple as that.
"I'm focusing on length. Length is very important, and it's been like fourth year with DC, so nothing changes. You mature after playing so many games and understand what your strength is and obviously, spinning the ball is my strength and just keeping it very simple and just focusing on the length and we have been talking about that."
DC have always been on big on wristspin - Amit Mishra is still the leading wicket-taker for the Delhi franchise. This season, they have gone bigger by pairing rookie legspinner Vipraj Nigam up with Kuldeep. And among the reserves, they have a left-arm fingerspinner who can also bowl left-arm wristspin.
CSK, on the other hand, have been a more conventional team. Barring the period between 2018 and 2021 when they had Imran Tahir playing for them, CSK have usually lacked a wristspinner of pedigree. Even they have gone unconventional by outlaying INR 10 crore for Noor's left-arm wristspin this time.
Stephen Fleming became a meme when he held up all his ten fingers at the auctioneer to take the bid for Noor up to INR 10 crore. "We've been watching him pretty closely for a few years now," Mike Hussey, CSK's batting coach, said of Noor. "But I think in the last probably 12 to 18 months, his improvement has just been through the roof. And I'm sure Stephen Fleming has been watching him closely through the other leagues that he's been playing, through South Africa (SA20), through the American League (MLC) as well."
The CSK spinner has nine wickets from three matches in IPL 2025
While CSK have gone on record about the apparent tension with the curators at Chepauk, Noor has taken the pitches out of equation and has emerged this IPL's highest wicket-taker. He has, on average, taken a wicket once every eight balls.
CSK had originally picked Noor as a middle-overs operator, but he can also do the job in the powerplay and end overs, given his exceptional skills. "I just like the look of him," Hussey said. "I mean, he's a good guy to have in the team. He's an attacking spinner. Not many batsmen around the world read him very well. So, he becomes a real attacking option for us. I know Fleming in particular was very keen to get hold of him in the auction and was delighted when we were able to get him. And yeah, he started the season fantastically well."
Kuldeep, too, is impressed by Noor. "I was sitting with him, and we had a chat about how to go about the legspin," Kuldeep said. "Obviously, he has a lovely wrong 'un and with that kind of a pace, it's very difficult for a batter to pick and especially when you play in Chennai, it's always very difficult to score against any wristspinner."
The blockbuster battle between the two left-arm wristspinners could decide which way the game turns on Saturday.