T20 World Cup 2021: Ranking spin attacks of top 8 teams

Ahead of the T20 World Cup 2021 in the United Arab Emirates, one of the biggest talking points has been the pitches. The wickets in the middle east in recent times have given something for all types of players. There is a little movement for the pacers with the new ball, wickets generally aid run-scoring and spinners get something from the surface as well. 

In this piece, we have discussed the spin attacks of all the top eight teams, who have managed to qualify directly into the top 10. While discussing each of the attacks, the members who have been selected or are likely to be selected have been taken into account. For what is worth, all the teams seem to have a solid attack capable of extracting something from the UAE pitches. 

Here is the ranking of spin attacks of all teams for the T20 World Cup 2021:

8. West Indies

Spin options: Fabian Allen, Hayden Walsh Jr., Akeal Hosein 

The West Indies team is coming together just at the right time ahead of the T20 World Cup. With most of their star players of T20 cricket back in the national side, the defending champions will be favorites going into this tournament. They seem to have all bases covered, except for one, something which played a huge role during their T20 World Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2016. 

It’s their spin attack. West Indies had a really good attack in 2012, which consisted of Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree. Once Narine was unavailable for the 2016 edition, Sulieman Benn came in handy in tandem with Badree. Make no mistake, for the 2021 edition, West Indies’ spin attack is not short of talent but maybe short of experience and expertise like Narine-Badree-Benn. 

Despite that, Hayden Walsh looks like a force to reckon with. Allen was terrific during the Abu Dhabi T10 2020-21 season while Akeal Hosein had a few things working for him. Given their ability to turn the match around and proper preparation through the home T20I series and the Caribbean Premier League, Kieron Pollard might not have too much to worry about.

7. Australia

Spin options: Adam Zampa, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Swepson

Australia, heading into the T20 World Cup, has tried to keep two spinners, Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, together in the line-up. Despite Zampa being their first choice spinner for all conditions, Agar’s stocks increase every time Australia comes to play a match in sub-continent conditions. His batting abilities give him a massive advantage of slotting in at no. 7. 

Apart from Agar and Zampa, Australia’s third spinner is Mitchell Swepson. The 27-year-old leggie has been in and out of the Australian squad for some time. But, having been named in the T20 World Cup squad, Swepson would be raring to perform well. So far, he has played seven games for Australia in T20Is and taken 11 wickets at a strike rate of 12.50. 

Despite all the good things about this attack, there is one issue and that is of similarity. Because Australia doesn’t have an off-spinner, their attack looks a bit one-dimensional. All the three spinners essentially take the ball away from the right-hander. This actually means that Australia, even if they want, would be slightly tentative to play all three of them together. But, for now, Zampa and Agar seem like the first choice on any given day.

6. South Africa

Spin options: Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, George Linde

George Linde is possibly one of the more exciting players on the T20 scene right now but doesn’t always get talked about. The left-arm orthodox spinner looks like an ideal partner to Tabraiz Shamsi, who is the No. 1 bowler in ICC T20I rankings at this moment. The duo has played a few matches together and seems like an ideal combination for them. 

South Africa has one benefit as well and that comes with the presence of Keshav Maharaj. Even though he is yet to make his T20I debut, he can seamlessly come into this side, if Linde has to be replaced. Proteas have a few players who can come and fill up for the batting role which Linde would have been given, allowing Maharaj to play. 

On top of that, Maharaj was superb during the country’s last domestic T20 competition. He is someone who can bowl in the powerplay and his tight lines can put pressure on the batting unit. With these three options, South Africa has enough to work with. And if their recent success in West Indies had anything to prove, it was that Proteas now have a good spin attack for challenging teams where there is help from the wicket.

5. England

Spin options: Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali, Matt Parkinson

England has not been known to produce a lot of spinners, but ahead of this T20 World Cup, they seem to have come across a solid combination of spinners. What is great for them is the fact that the two spinners who had played a crucial role during their run till the final of the T20 World Cup 2016 in India, are still in the squad, close to their peak forms. 

Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid together are a superb combination, on paper. Moeen is someone who can bowl in any situation during a T20 innings and has experience of delivering with the ball in tough situations. As far as Rashid is concerned, he has been in top rhythm for quite some time now. The fact that both these players have an IPL gig right before the World Cup will also help them to get adjusted to the line and lengths on the UAE pitches. 

Then there is a factor that Ali is an off-spinner while Rashid is a leg-spinner, which allows England to have two different types of bowlers to challenge the opposition with variations. Lastly, there has been an emergence of Mark Parkinson, which seems to be good for England’s spin attack. He is young, talented and can confuse batsmen easily with his variations. With Moeen and Rashid being first choices, Parkinson is a brilliant second- choice player.

4. New Zealand

Spin options: Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner, Todd Astle

Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner have been a formidable duo in the past few years in the T20 format. Their journey started back in the T20 World Cup 2016 in India, where New Zealand won four of their five matches. During that tournament, the duo had taken 20 wickets between them and had been critical for New Zealand’s unbeaten run during the group stages. 

Playing against most of the Asian teams, New Zealand’s spinner will be tested but they have enough to extract from the surfaces in the UAE. Both Sodhi and Santner are skillful and despite turning the ball in the same direction, they have been quite successful together. And this has mainly been because of subtle pace variation. 

Santner being a left-arm orthodox is a bit slower through the air, while Sodhi is about putting more revolutions of the ball as it fizzes from the surface. Todd Astle, who could come in if the Blackcaps need an extra spinner, is also experienced and can contain batsmen with his leg-spinners. This bowling trio can punch above their weight, as Blackcaps have done previously.

3. Pakistan

Spin options: Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Hafeez, Usman Qadir

Much like their arch-rivals India, Pakistan has a bunch of spinners to choose from for their ideal XI in the T20 World Cup. There is enough quality and variation. Hafeez is a off-spinner, Shadab is a leg-spinner. Nawaz and Imad are traditional left-arm orthodox spinners while Shadab’s tricks can be substituted with Usman Qadir. 

Their attack seems threatening on paper. And it helps that all of them have played some or a lot of cricket in the UAE. In recent times, most of these players have even had a go in T20Is for Pakistan, which is good for the side. On top of that, three of the five which we are discussing are capable of batting in the top seven, which solves their selection worries at least. 

All of these factors taken together can make this unit look much more formidable than it is. Interestingly, all these bowlers along with the pacers make a bowling unit that looks to be in sync. Hafeez is a powerplay bowler and so are Imad and Nawaz. Qadir and Shadab are experts in bowling in the middle overs. For now, Pakistan can be happy that they have more than one option for each of their spin requirements.

2. India

Spin options: Varun Chakravarthy, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja

India is one team that has boosted quality spinners in the shortest format for some time. Leading into this World Cup, their spin attack has options but doesn’t look too settled. Yuzvendra Chahal, who was India’s no. 1 pick for a spinner in the format, has not been at his best if we consider the stats for the last few years. But, there are others who can claim that spot.

Rahul Chahar, who has been the leading spinner of the Mumbai Indians, has played five T20Is so far and shown that he can be a good replacement if India wants to bench Chahal. Then, there is Ravindra Jadeja, who seems to have rediscovered his T20 game for better results in recent times. Adding him to the XI also makes India’s batting look more solid. 

Washington Sundar’s entry into the squad will depend on his fitness. Even if he misses out, India might not miss him a lot. Then there’s Varun Chakravarthy who has been impressive with his mystery spin ability in the past year or so. With doubts over Sundar, the Tamil Nadu spinner can seamlessly find a spot in this team, as he can pretty much bowl at any point in the game. India does have a good arsenal of spinners going into the World Cup.

1. Afghanistan

Spin options: Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan

Apart from India, if there is one team that has produced quality world-class spinners in the last few years, it has been Afghanistan. There seems to be a factory that produces these incredible young spinners, with terrific wrists and control with the ball. What works in the favor of this trio is their experience. 

Mohammad Nabi has played more than 300 matches while Rashid Khan is closing in on that figure. They have played in possibly every condition and in every situation. The working combination of an off-spinner and a leg-spinner is always difficult for batsmen to come to terms with. Add to that the abilities of Mujeeb, who is also an off-spinner who doesn’t turn the ball a lot and you have the perfect Afghan recipe of demolishing oppositions. 

The absolute best thing about them is their experience of playing in the UAE pitches. Apart from these three, who are easily among the top spinners in the world, there is Qais Ahmed, Zahir Khan, and Samiullah Shinwari who can be crucial for them if selected in the squad.