Top 5 current off-spinning all-rounders

All-rounders are a rare commodity in cricket, but then these players could be match-winners on their day. Also, these players can maintain the balance of the team and this allows the management to go in with a much better combination.

In the recent times, almost every team has an off-spinning all-rounder in their team, and this gives the team a proper balance. These players merit selection on the basis of their performances with both bat and ball.

There is this feeling that off-spin is one of the easiest art in modern day cricket, but then if the person is a mediocre player, he will be exposed thoroughly.

Here in this list, we take a look at 5 off-spinning all-rounders who have sprung into prominence in the recent past.

#5 Dhananjaya de Silva

Elegant strokes, nonchalant drives and an ever smiling face, Dhananjay de Silva was one of the stars to emerge from the series against Australia. He came into bat at number 7 and exuded class in almost all the innings. He was never in any trouble against pace or spin, and thus stood out.

With the ball, he was no slouch either and posed serious questions and was always on the money and extracted turn from the surfaces. Although he picked up only 2 wickets, he never allowed the Australian batsmen to decipher him one bit.

With the bat, he scored 325 runs at an impressive average of 65. What stood out was his unflappable temperament, and it augurs well for Sri Lanka in the future.

#4 Roston Chase

In the recent series against India, one of the positives to emerge for West Indies was the performance of young off-spinning all-rounder Roston Chase.

With the bat, he looked assured at the crease and showed great tenacity against the spinners. He was solely responsible for West Indies holding on to a draw on the final day in the second Test match when he dug in and scored a gritty 137 not out. He was at ease both against the spinners as well as against the seamers and never looked hassled.

With the ball too, he probed away with his off-spin and was quite difficult to score against. He picked up 8 wickets in the 4 innings. Certainly one for the future for West Indies cricket.

#3 JP Duminy

JP Duminy burst onto the International scene during the 2008 tour to Australia where a young batsman showed his mettle and helped South Africa win the series. However, his batting has not quite taken off, but he has always been around the corner.

In the past two to three years, Duminy has worked on his off spin and now chips in with the ball on almost every occasion, and this allows South Africa to play 5 bowlers and then with 7 genuine batsmen, which is a great luxury to have in Test matches.

Duminy has grown in this role as an off-spinner and now can hold one end up which allows other bowlers to attack from the other end. Apart from this, when the conditions favour him, he can also bag few wickets for his team.

#2 Moeen Ali

After the sudden retirement of Graeme Swann, Moeen Ali was roped in into the England team and was blooded to become the next lead spinner in the team. Moeen, who was a part-time bowler and a genuine top order batsman grabbed this opportunity and soon justified the faith reposed in him by the management.

He took 19 wickets against India during the 2014 series and thus grew as an off-spinner in Test matches. He has since become an important cog in the English wheel, and although he has not been able to take wickets on regular wickets, he has been persisted with.

Also, Moeen is an elegant batsman and when he is in full flow there are few better sights in cricket. He has 3 centuries and 7 half-centuries in 30 matches, and has bailed England out of trouble time and again in the recent past.

#1 Ravichandran Ashwin

In 13 matches, Ashwin has been named the man of series on 6 occasions, which is more than Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. This speaks volumes about the ability of the man and there is little doubt that he is an out and out match-winner with the ball, more so when the conditions are in his favour.

However, it has been his batting which has sprung into prominence of late. He was always a handy lower order batsman, but then he was promoted a number 6 in the Test matches against West Indies and the Tamil Nadu player did not disappoint one bit. He rescued India from iffy situations and also scored 2 centuries in the century.

Certainly a genuine all-rounder in the making.