Siddharth Desai and his art of left-arm spin bowling

Left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai's unique run-up and technique make his bowling from around the wicket particularly dangerous.

Gujarat left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai, who says he prefers bowling from around the wicket to the right-handers, has an unusual run-up when doing it.

He begins from over the wicket, cuts through the umpire and the stumps, has a bit of a jump and bowls from closer to the return crease. For a left-arm spinner, his jump is exaggerated.

He had four wickets (all right-handers) bowling from around the wicket in his six-wicket haul (six for 61) versus TNCA President’s XI here on Wednesday.

Speaking about his run-up, he said: “That (run-up) helps me to get into a better position at the time of jump and get side-on better. Because of that (getting as side-on as possible), I can use my body better. I can transfer my body weight better, so that I can get that nip (sharp lift) of the ball. I don’t use a lot of shoulder. I try and bowl from fingers and use my body weight.”

On a pitch that offers bounce, the “nip” he tries to get makes his bowling especially threatening.