Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad, this was not the duo that Chennai Super Kings thought would turn into their spin twins. With R Ashwin retiring and Ravindra Jadeja moving to Rajasthan Royals, it seemed CSK were moving away from their tried and tested template. At the auction, when they showed reluctance to pursue proven Indian spinners and bought Hosein on board, it raised eyebrows.
With Noor being their first-choice tweaker and Akeal being predominantly a Powerplay bowler, the question was how will they slot both? Fielding two overseas spinners isn’t a tactic most franchises prefer as it disrupts balance.
Yet, in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Chepauk a week ago, Chennai saw encouraging signs when the duo spun them to victory in what was the first defence of a target under 200 this IPL season.
Akeal, a left-arm orthodox, isn’t complex to read. He just has two variations – the seam-up delivery that comes in with the angle and the arm delivery. Beyond that, he relies on changing his trajectory and pace. In 212 innings, he has 101 wickets in the Powerplay at an economy rate of 7.15. Help from the pitch or not, the trajectory he operates always makes it challenging for batsmen to get under the ball. His exclusion for their match in Hyderabad may have been a factor in CSK’s eventual defeat.