It was a big gamble that Royal Challengers Bangalore took by releasing Yuzvendra Chahal and going for Wanindu Hasaranga.
He then got another setback after not being retained by his IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the IPL 2022 auctions. Bangalore were looking at a different strategy altogether.
WaninduHasaranga was picked by RCB in IPL 2021 after putting in some brilliant performances against India. He was quite expensive in the two T20s without being able to pick up any wicket.
However, the team management must have seen something special about him in the nets and decided to show their faith. They got him for big bucks in the IPL 2022 auction, and he did not disappoint.
His best of 5/18 were the best figures in the entire season after JaspritBumrah's 5 for 10.
Mystery spin is the thing that's best employed to stop batters from scoring quickly in T20 cricket as they are not sure in which direction the ball is going to spin. They can't use the pace of the bowlers either and a little risk leads them back to the pavilion which is why they are very cautious against bowlers of the ilk of Hasaranga.
He is behind Josh Hazlewood, Adil Rashid, Tabrez Shamsi, Rashid Khan and Adam Zampa. Part of the reason is that he does not get to play enough T20 Internationals like the big nations. Once the fixture stream becomes more consistent, there is little doubt that Hasaranga will consistently feature among the top 3 bowlers in world cricket in the T20s, at least for a few years to come.
