IPL 2022: 3 spinners to watch out for this season

IPL 2022 is set to kick off in the last week of March. The mega event is going to be back in India with the group stage being staged in Maharashtra.

Spinners are an essential commodity in the T20 format. They tend to go for runs, but still have the knack of providing crucial breakthroughs. As IPL 2022 will be played in India, the spinners are expected to get some assistance from the pitches.

So, which of the many tweakers in the fray are going to emerge as the leading bowlers this season? Well, let's look closely at three contenders.

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Could Kuldeep Yadav make IPL 2022 the stage for his revival?

Kuldeep Yadav had a very successful run with the Indian ODI and T20I team before losing his place

Kuldeep Yadav has witnessed a surprising slide in the last couple of years. From being India's lead spinner at the 2019 World Cup, he descended to being a benchwarmer for the entire IPL 2021 season.

After delivering a few lukewarm performances in the initial matches of IPL 2020, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) decided to drop him from the playing XI in favour of Varun Chakravarthy. The latter's stellar form made it even tougher for Yadav to make a comeback.

In the recently-concluded mega auction, the Delhi Capitals (DC) signed Yadav for ₹2 cr. DC owner Parth Jindal commented on Yadav's sudden downfall in a show called 'Auction Alert with Boria'. Jindal believes Yadav wasn't 'handled well' in the last few seasons of the league.

“I don't think he has been handled well in IPL in last few seasons. He is a player who rides on confidence. In the environment we have created at DC, with Ricky and Rishabh, this is really what we want to give him. He has a lot to prove and the fire in the belly is there. We are very keen to see what he does, come March end.”

The words coming from the owner should give Kuldeep some much-needed confidence. The 27-year-old will like to start a new journey and get back to his lethal best for the Delhi-based franchise.

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Ravi Bishnoi looking to enhance his reputation at IPL 2022

Ravi Bishnoi recently performed well for the Indian team in T20Is

Ravi Bishnoi is riding high on his recent success with the Indian team. The young leg-spinner impressed everyone with his wicket-taking ability in the recently-concluded T20I series against the West Indies.

Bishnoi has been a pivotal part of the Punjab Kings team in the last two seasons of the IPL. His ability to bowl the googly consistently has made life tough for batters. The leggie picked up 24 wickets at an economy rate of 6.96 in the last two IPL seasons.

Bishnoi was picked up by the newly-formed Lucknow Supergiants for IPL 2022. He will reunite with his former captain KL Rahul and hope to create the same magic again.

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Will Mayank Markande emerge as the new spin-bowling star from India?

Mayank Markande has been impressive but now needs to step up to the big league (Image: Twitter/Mayank Markande)

On April 7, 2018, Mayank Markande spun a web around the strong batting line-up of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He picked up three wickets in that match, including the prized scalp of MS Dhoni. The young leg-spinner picked up another four wickets in the next match, against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Markande was one of the finds of the season for the Mumbai Indians (MI). He picked up 15 wickets in IPL 2021. The leggie was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing campaign for his team.

He went onto make his international debut against Australia in early 2019. Many had predicted him to be the next big thing. However, his journey didn't go ahead as expected.

He has played only one match in the last two seasons for the Rajasthan Royals. His performances in domestic cricket also deteriorated and the 24-year-old fell off the selectors' radar.

The latest IPL Auction must have come as a breath of fresh air for Markande. He was picked up by the Mumbai Indians for ₹65 lakh. As he marks his return to the team where it all started, the talented youngster will hope to get his career back on track through IPL 2022.