Bishnoi is a rare bird — a leggie that is an electric fielder and an unbelievable catcher

Ravi Bishnoi's journey from T20 World Cup hopeful to India's bowling spearhead, showcasing his unique leg-spin skills.

In the first week of December last year, some six months before the start of the T20 World Cup in the Americas, Ravi Bishnoi scaled the summit, occupying the top spot in the ICC’s list of T20 International bowlers. At the time, it appeared as if the little leggie was a shoo-in for the World Cup squad to complement the left-arm wrist spin of Kuldeep Yadav.

Bishnoi played three games thereafter, at home against Afghanistan, but even though he clinched victory for India in the second Super Over of the final match of the series in Bengaluru — India’s last engagement before the World Cup — he lost his place to Yuzvendra Chahal. That had as much to do with the bucketful of wickets the more experienced and conventional senior leggie picked up for Rajasthan Royals in the first half of IPL 2024 as Bishnoi going slightly off the boil for Lucknow Super Giants.

With India certain to play only one wristie while plumping for the batting depth that left-arm spinning all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel offered, the nod went to Chahal’s experience ahead of Bishnoi’s exuberance as insurance for any injury that might rule Kuldeep out. While it must have been heart-breaking for the 23-year-old, it merely served to reiterate the depth in Indian cricket and provide a window to the resources at the disposal of Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid and Ajit Agarkar’s selection panel.

Like at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, Chahal returned home from the United States and the Caribbean without playing a single game, though he did have the great distinction of wearing a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck. In a clear-cut indication that the planning for the future has already started, Bishnoi was promptly brought back for the T20I series in Zimbabwe, a move that has paid handsome dividends with the younger leg-spinner beautifully fusing economy with penetration.

Unlike Chahal, who is a master of the game that relies on the conventional — his stock delivery is the looping leg-break to the right-hander that, when it comes out of the hand perfectly, drifts into the batter and breaks away wickedly on pitching — Bishnoi is a unique proposition in the sense that his principal weapon is the ball that turns into the right-hander. Bishnoi is more of a googly bowler than a leg-spinner and that wouldn’t be a secret even if there were no access to data and elaborate video footage. Batters know what to expect from Bishnoi, nine times out of ten. That he has been able to hold his own despite that knowledge is again proof of the truism that to know what one is confronted with is one thing, to be able to negotiate it with dexterity, confidence and authority is another cup of tea altogether.

Bishnoi is a bundle of energy as he comes into bowl, short quick strides combining with a quick, whippy action to make him appear all arms. The fast arm-action often confuses batters into thinking that the ball will arrive a lot quicker than it actually does, though it can’t be denied that the diminutive fella is quicker through the air than, say, Chahal or Kuldeep. He is adept at changing up angles and pace and therefore shies away from being predictable at a micro level even if his over-reliance on the googly lends a macro-level touch of similarity to his bowling. There was a time when batters around the world tried to play Anil Kumble like an inswing bowler, much to their detriment. If, today, batters believe that Bishnoi is only an exponent of the googly, they have another thing coming.

Bishnoi is an out and out wicket-taker who isn’t great at playing a defensive role, which isn’t something captains expect of their wrist-spinners in any case. For holding jobs and control, their eyes will flit towards finger spinners, left-arm and right. Bishnoi, Kuldeep, Chahal and their ilk are attacking weapons who can provide the cutting edge in the middle overs that can easily lop 20 runs off the batting side’s tally, a monumental figure in the modern T20 landscape.