3 Indian spinners who have struggled to pick up wickets in IPL 2023

The 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) has produced a myriad of venues, conditions and challenges for all 10 teams so far.

Spinners are important weapons in T20 cricket, and the same has been quite apparent this year. Rashid Khan, Piyush Chawla and Yuzvendra Chahal are in the top five of the Purple Cap charts. Others like Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravichandran Ashwin are close on their heels.

However, some spinners have struggled to deliver this year. Either due to a lack of form or due to their home venue not necessarily assisting them, a few tweakers haven't been able to produce regular breakthroughs.

Here are three Indian spinners who have struggled to pick up wickets so far in IPL 2023.

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#3 Washington Sundar | SRH

Washington Sundar has been laid low by a plethora of injuries lately

Washington Sundar's body just hasn't held up over the last year or two. The all-rounder has unfortunately been ruled out of IPL 2023 with a hamstring injury, leaving the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) with a hole to fill in the lower-middle order.

While Sundar turned out for the Orange Army, though, he found it tough to be at his penetrative best. As captain Aiden Markram didn't seem to have too much faith in his bowling, the off-spinner went wicketless in his first six games.

Sundar eventually managed to get amongst the wickets, recording three of them in a single over against the Delhi Capitals (DC). Soon after that, the youngster was ruled out. His numbers for the competition read three scalps from seven matches at an economy rate of 8.26.

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#2 Rahul Chahar | PBKS

Rahul Chahar hasn't been able to replicate his MI form with PBKS in IPL 2023

Rahul Chahar has been an integral part of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) side since making his way to the franchise at the mega-auction. However, this season, he hasn't been able to replicate the form he showed for the Mumbai Indians (MI).

Chahar has played 10 matches in IPL 2023 and has picked up just three wickets. He hasn't recorded more than one wicket in any of these games, and his economy rate of 8.32 hasn't been greatest either.

Chahar is now some way away from the Indian T20I setup, and on the back of his exploits so far, he might have gotten even further away from a place.

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#1 Kumar Kartikeya ! MI

MI's bowling attack hasn't stepped up in IPL 2023

Kumar Kartikeya was one of the breakout stars of IPL 2022. The left-arm spinner displayed the plethora of variations in his armory and also had an excellent domestic season across formats.

However, Kartikeya has found the going tough this year. In four matches for MI, the 25-year-old has managed just two scalps at an economy rate of 7.76. His variations haven't been too effective, and he hasn't been able to get his lines and lengths right either.

Kartikeya has seemingly fallen behind Raghav Goyal in the race to be MI's secondary spinner, with Piyush Chawla excelling. Hrithik Shokeen remains another option, and even if Kartikeya enters the playing XI once again, he will need to produce a bagful of wickets to justify his inclusion.