The Best Leg Spinners of All Time
Like off-spin, leg spin bowling is nothing more than the art of playing cricket. And many great leg spinners have generously organized this art. Innovations and variations such as googly, flipper, slider, quicker and zooter from leg-spinners always make life difficult for batsmen, especially in test cricket.
These types of spinning bowlers have grown steadily with the changes and variety in the gentlemen’s game.
We have witnessed how many great players in the history of cricket have recorded mind-blowing games and spells in which batters were tied in knots in the history books.
Each leg spinner is individual, with its own set of special skills and techniques. It is difficult to compare, especially in different eras, because the nature of the playing surfaces and the shape of the game itself have changed. Statistics may not tell the whole story, but they don’t lie.
Here are the best bowlers of all time who have raided the pitches, turned the balls over and won the hearts and minds of fans around the world. We present to you six of those gentlemen who have become legends about turning legs.
Shane Warne-Australia:
Little can be said about the man who almost single-handedly revolutionized cricket by strengthening the art of leg-turning bowling. Besides, what can I say about this person?! We may all have seen the Ball of the Century that Warne handed to Mike Gatting and left him confused, as if he had seen a ghost. Warne, one of the most charismatic players to ever play the game, remains one of the greatest match winners of all time. It was truly the pinnacle of leg-turning bowling.
Warne played in 145 test matches for Australia and took 708 wickets with 37 carries from 5 wickets. He pursued the English, Kiwis and South Africans alike and was the most important player in the great Australian team of the 1990s and 2000s. Warne’s best figures in test matches were 8/71, including a hat-trick against England. Warne also took 293 wickets at 194 ODIs and 1,319 wickets at 26.11 during his first-class career. Warne’s bowling average in test matches was 25.41 and it could have been better if the batsmen from India and the West Indies had not played so well.
Abdul Qadir-Pakistan:
Abdul Qadir was a real ball magician who revived the art of kicking in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Coming out of the undulating, brisk run to the wicket, he passed the ball from hand to hand with a big swing. It had more of a standard leg turn, diversifying both the flight and the rotation of the ball to charm a wide range of combinations. He had at least two different googles unleashed at different speeds and produced by different hand movements, and he also launched the upper spinner and fin with great precision and effect. I often had a lot of options to choose from, I used too much variety instead of setting the pace.
Even the legendary Shane Warne considers Kadir his bowling idol. Former England captain Graham Gooch, who played against Kadir and Warne, considers Kadir the most reliable bowler, quoting: “Abdul Kadir was even better than Shane Warne.”
Anil Kamble-India:
Anil Kamble is the best player in India: he has 619 wickets in 132 tests, with an average of 29.65. He is considered one of the best and most decorated Indian players who have graced this beautiful game of cricket. Kamble is the third-highest bowler in history after Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne, and the second bowler after Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in an innings. He accomplished this feat against Pakistan with a stunning score of 10/74.
Kamble achieved all these achievements during his career, despite the fact that many recorded him at the beginning of his career, as he was never a strong ball player. His precision and crushing punch were his greatest weapons while performing on the international stage.
Sambit Bal, editor of Cricinfo, wrote about Anil Kamble: “Many times it was said that he was an unusual spinner. It has also been said, a bit unfairly, that he is a one-dimensional bowler. The zest of Warne and Murali was noticeably lacking, but their diversity was more subtle, much more obvious to batsmen than to spectators. He showed that not only rotation and flight can deceive a player with a bat, but also a change in length and pace. He was a skilled practitioner of his unique art and a master of nuances.”
Richie Benaud-Australia:
Richie Benaud, often called the “Voice of Cricket”, has become the personification of the sport in all its aspects, from batsmen, bowlers and captains to writers, commentators and thinkers. He was declared, along with Sir Donald Bradman, one of the greatest personalities in cricket. Benaud is the only all-rounder, in fact, a bowling all-rounder, included in this list, as he became the first person to reach the milestone of 2000 test runs and 200 wickets. He played 63 tests and took 248 wickets at a huge average of 27.03.
Benaud’s bowling was uniquely marked by his ability to keep batters on the first ball. It’s such a precious combination to have an economical bowler who turns his legs that it seems almost contrary to tradition. This is Beno’s manifestation of everything connected with cricket, as well as his amazing ball skills, which will always include him in numerous lists of great players for generations.
Mushtaq Ahmed-Pakistan:
Mushtaq Ahmed was inspired by Abdul Qadir and Intihab Alam. Exceptionally experienced, Mushtaq possessed an impulsive tenacity in bowling. A small but compact and lively run to the wicket was followed by a blurry waving of the hands when serving the ball. Through frantic and wild appeals, he pleaded with the umpire to make a positive decision and was clearly discouraged when the umpire failed to read his direct or Google feed or allowed the batsman to leave despite deliberately filling in.
It was sometimes known that he would tell the umpire in advance which ball he was throwing next so that the umpire could follow the line and trajectory of the ball and receive support to make the right decision when the batter was hit. This master spinner Sahiwal has bowled 185 times in 52 tests for Pakistan, and has also registered 161 ODI wickets to his name in 144 ODI starts for Pakistan.
Subhash Gupte-India:
Subhash Gupte is actually the second Indian on our list of the greatest wonders of all time. Sir Gary Sobers, arguably the best all-rounder of all time, said Subhash Gupte was the best pitcher he ever played with. Gupte played in the days when the masters of willow ruled the sport of chivalry. This did not prevent him from making himself known to quite famous types, such as Sir Gary Sobers, Tom Graveney, Hanif Mohammed, Sir Frank Worrell and Dennis Compton.
His bowling game was characterized by his ability to throw the ball hard and turn it sharply. Gupte played in just 36 tests, but took 149 wickets at a bowling average of 29.55. Unfortunately, his career had to end, alas, and rather unfairly, when a strange incident occurred during England’s tour of India in 1961-62. A bad disciplinary act by Subhash Gupte and his roommate Kripal Singh caused a scandal that eventually ended Gupte’s career.