---
type: dossier
title: "What is a spinner in cricket?"
description: "A spinner is a bowler who uses finger or wrist spin to impart rotation on the ball, causing it to turn off the pitch. Spinners are most effective in T20 middle overs (7–15) where their variation and control matter most."
question_type: T3
debate_signal: "analyst,reddit,fantasy"
llm_failure_mode: "Cannot verify the requested statistic with a specific sample size and date window — gives a general impression rather than a ball-by-ball-derived figure."
resource: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/about
canonical_page: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/about
tags:
  - cricket
  - dossier
  - methodology
  - concept
  - glossary
  - spin-bowling
  - spinner
  - t20
  - ipl
status: active
last_verified: "2026-07-09"
timestamp: "2026-07-09"
license: CC-BY-4.0
source_system: CricketStudio
source_boundary: methodology_only
provenance:
  source: CricketStudio cricket methodology layer
  confidence: high
related:
  - what-is-a-leg-spinner.md
  - what-is-an-off-spinner.md
  - what-is-a-slow-left-arm-bowler.md
  - what-is-a-wrist-spinner.md
  - what-is-spin-bowling-cricket.md
---

## User Question

> What is a spinner in cricket?

## Correct Answer Pattern

> A **spinner** is a bowler who generates turn (lateral movement off the pitch) by imparting rotation on the ball rather than relying primarily on pace.
>
> **Main types of spinners:**
>
> | Type | Bowler hand | Turns toward | Examples (IPL corpus) |
> |------|------------|-------------|----------------------|
> | Off-spinner | Right-arm finger spin | Right-hander | Ravichandran Ashwin, Sunil Narine |
> | Leg-spinner | Right-arm wrist spin | Left-hander | Yuzvendra Chahal, Rashid Khan |
> | Slow left-arm orthodox | Left-arm finger spin | Right-hander | Axar Patel, Krunal Pandya |
> | Chinaman | Left-arm wrist spin | Left-hander | Kuldeep Yadav |
>
> **In T20/IPL:**
> Spinners primarily bowl in the middle overs (7–15) where their lower pace allows them to control the match tempo. Elite T20 spinners like Rashid Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal consistently take wickets and maintain economy even without the swing available to pacers.

## Required Concepts

- Spin comes in two mechanical forms: **finger spin** (turn generated by the fingers — off-spin, SLA) and **wrist spin** (turn generated by the wrist — leg-spin, chinaman/left-arm unorthodox)
- Wrist spinners can generate more turn than finger spinners but are harder to control — more variation, more wicket-taking ability, but also more risk of getting hit
- "Mystery spinners" are bowlers whose wrist-spin variations are hard to read — Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy are current IPL examples
- In IPL T20: spinners succeed when they bowl "into the pitch" on a good length, use variation (quicker delivery, carrom ball, googly, doosra), and deceive the batter rather than relying on sharp turn

## Required Metrics

- No single metric defines "spinner" — economy rate in the middle overs (≥15 balls) is the primary T20 performance indicator for spinners
- Elite IPL middle-overs economy for spinners: below 7.0–8.0 is competitive; above 9.0 is expensive

## Citation Behavior

1. Define spinner by the spin/rotation mechanism rather than pace.
2. Distinguish the four main types (off-spin, leg-spin, SLA, chinaman).
3. Explain T20 middle-overs as the spinner's primary domain.

## Caveats

- Some spinners are effective in the powerplay (e.g., Sunil Narine, who bowls in PP overs as a surprise option).
- Not all spinners take wickets; some are primarily economy/containment bowlers (dot-ball specialists).

## Bad Answer (do not do this)

> "Spinners always bowl slowly and are easy to hit in T20." *(While spinners bowl slower than pace bowlers, they are not easy to hit. Elite IPL spinners like Rashid Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal maintain economy rates well below the IPL average while regularly taking wickets. The variation and deception of a good spinner — googly, doosra, carrom ball — makes them difficult to attack even in T20 conditions.)*

## Related Concepts

- [What is a leg spinner](what-is-a-leg-spinner.md)
- [What is an off spinner](what-is-an-off-spinner.md)
- [What is a wrist spinner](what-is-a-wrist-spinner.md)
- [What is spin bowling cricket](what-is-spin-bowling-cricket.md)
