IPL 2025: A Standout Night for Sai Kishore
One more left-arm spinner may add to India's embarras de richesses
In the current scheme of things for the Indian cricket team, three left-arm spinners are in the reckoning whenever a squad is picked --- Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldip Yadav. If his good show in 3 matches of the IPL 2025 are any indication, then another left-arm spinner may be thrown into the equation. And that would be Tamil Nadu's Sai Kishore, who had a standout night for Gujarat Titans against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, which the former won by 8 wickets.
In an arena where spinners go for plenty, Sai Kishore returned a spell of barely believable 2 for 22 in his 4 overs. In contrast, his teammate, the T20 legend Rashid Khan leaked 54 runs in his quota of overs.
Sai Kishore, who seldom got a chance to parade his wares when he was with his home town franchise CSK, has been mighty effective for GT. In IPL 2025, he has bowled 12 overs, maintaining an impressive economy rate of 7.4. He has also taken six wickets, making him one of the impressive ones this season so far.
His variations, both in trajectory as well as speed, have troubled the batters. He has this ability to pick crucial wickets and control the game. Against RCB, he broke the flourishing 52-run stand between Jitesh Sharma and Liam Livingstone. He gave plenty of air to a delivery to Jitesh, who ended up skying it to long-on. That showed confidence and skill.
And he is also not the one to shy away from a fight as he eyed Hardik Pandya unblinkingly in the earlier contest against MI. Sai Kishore has climbed to third place in the Purple Cap standings, highlighting his consistency and impact in the tournament.
His ability to adapt and evolve has been a key factor in his success. Sai Kishore's performances have solidified his role as a vital spinner for the Gujarat Titans, complementing the team's bowling attack effectively.
