Samuel Badree picks out the top five leg-spinners at the moment

Samuel Badree is a top spinner in the shortest format and that is no news. He had to sit out most matches in the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League because of the dynamics of team that require attention on the composition and playing only 5 overseas players, however, with the IPL mega-auction only a month away, the bidding for him can get a heated one.

He picked up the first hat-trick in last year’s edition for the RCB and that is one of the instances that show his grip in T20 cricket. In an interview with Cricinfo, he spoke about the art of legspin in modern cricket, perseverance, the top legspinners and the toughest batsmen he had to bowl to.

The top 5 leggies at the moment?

On being asked about who the top 5 leggies in cricket at the moment are, he said to ESPN Cricinfo, “I think Imran Tahir is up there as one of the best. There’s Kuldeep Yadav from India, who has done really well in the IPL. He is someone who has been successful throughout the world. Brad Hogg, even at the age of 40, has been exceptional. He has done well in the Big Bash.”

He was also quick to mention his West Indian team-mate Sunil Narine in the list, even though he is not a leg-spinner, particularly adding the term ‘genius’.And when talks about legspin surround you, you can’t help but include sensational Afghan spinner Rashid Khan in the list. Badree showered praise on the 19-year-old but also presented a nuanced opinion on what he would have to do as his career develops.

“I must include Sunil Narine, although you said legspinner. He is a genius. There’s one more: Rashid Khan,” he said, “he is really good. He is so young, he has so much potential. No batsman in the world seems to have got the better of him as yet. It is early stages in his career, he will need to develop some more variety as batsmen get more familiar with him. But he has tremendous potential.”

The most challenging batsman?

Talking about the most challenging batsman he faced, he had some interesting things to say. There were two of his team-mates in the list while the other two were Australians. Interestingly, they are all explosive batsmen who usually open the innings. Their names fit the bill considering Badree bowls in the first six overs of the game, when these batsmen are relatively new on crease.

Not only does he include Narine’s name in the spinners’ list, his name also features among those who have been the toughest to bowl to. We saw glimpses of that in the IPL when Sunil Narine as an opener also hit Badree across the ground.

“In the West Indies, Chris Gayle, obviously. David Warner has been really difficult to bowl at. This might sound strange but Sunil Narine had the better of me twice. He knows all my tricks. Aaron Finch is the right-hander that I find difficult,” he said.