5 of the quickest spinners the cricket world has ever seen

As batsmen become more adventurous in the pursuit of runs, a good bowler has to essentially evolve and find newer ways of getting batsmen out. A good spinner always has quite a few different types of deliveries which he can fall back on and experiment with to keep the batsman guessing.With the evolution of limited overs cricket, it has become necessary for a spinner to have a good faster delivery. Spinner nowadays always look to push it through at a flatter trajectory when the batsman is looking to go after him. But there have been some spinners who naturally bowl fast -- the bounce and turn that they manage to extract at a lethal pace make them even more dangerous.Here are 5 of the quickest spinners the cricket world has ever seen.

#5 Marlon Samuels

Marlon Samuels variety makes him a dangerous bowler in the middle overs

Though a part-time off-break bowler, Marlon Samuels' bowling abilities have made him a handy all-rounder over the years. Samuels had a lethal fast delivery which was distinctly different from his standard off-break. This made him a good bowler for any captain to go to during the slog overs.

More often than not, Samuels tried to fire his faster deliveries in into the block hole making it very difficult for batsmen to score off him. Unfortunately, Samuels was reported for illegal action and barred from bowling his faster delivery in 2013. He was, before that, one of the quickest spinners to have played the game.

#4 Ajantha Mendis

Ajantha Mendis pace was one of the reasons why batsmen found him unplayable

When Ajantha Mendis first arrived on the scene, he took the cricketing world by storm. No one could read him correctly and the mystery spinner, as he was called, ran through oppositions with ease.

What made Mendis lethal was not only his bag of tricks but also the considerable pace at which he delivered continuously. Mendis offered the ball no air and made it impossible for batsmen to come down the track to him. With the batsmen hanging back in the crease, they never knew what to expect as the ball spun and skittled through.

#3 BS Chandrasekhar

Chandrashekhars bowling was developed through years of battling polio

There was a time when the legendary Indian leg-spinner, BS Chandrasekhar was considered to be the fastest spinner in the world. Having battled polio from a tender age, Chandrasekhar went on to become a part of the famous Indian spin quartet along with Bedi, Prasanna and Venkataraghavan.

Chandrasekhar had a fast, jerky run up followed by the erratic googlies and spiteful top-spinners which had even troubled Sir Viv Richards considerably in 1974 when the West Indies toured India. Richards managed an average of just 23 in that series and Chandrasekhar got him out three times in four Test matches.

His most memorable bowling performance was, however, his 6 wickets for 38 runs against England at the Oval in 1971 for which he won the Wisden award for the "Best bowling performance of the century" for India in 2002.

#2 Anil Kumble

Kumble's fastest recorded delivery was bowled at 118kmph

One of the legendary bowlers to have ever played the game, Anil Kumble is remembered as the spinner who hardly spun the ball. The bounce he could extract from the pitch because of his high arm action and the considerable pace at which he delivered the ball made him a lethal bowler.

On a day 5 pitch in a Test match, no batsman wanted to play against Kumble while he was in his prime as his balls would take off and bounce without the slightest hint. Kumble's fastest recorded delivery was bowled at 118 kmph though he could achieve speeds of well over 100 kmph quite regularly. And just like a fast bowler, he could even york batsmen out as he did to Trescothick on this occasion.

#1 Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi once bowled at 134 kmph

Shahid Afridi was once considered to be the most destructive batsman the world has ever seen. But it's no secret that Afridi lost his ability to play the long innings prematurely and has been too inconsistent with the bat ever since. The only reason why Afridi has gone on to play for so long is because of his all-round capabilities.

Afridi has truly over the years turned into an economical and wicket-taking bowler. Afridi always bowls at more than a decent pace for a spinner in order to make sure that the batsman does not charge at him. His ball delivered at 134 kmph is still the fastest recorded for any spinner. Tim Southee was obviously too bamboozled to be able to get bat on ball.