---
type: dossier
title: "What is a wrist spinner in cricket?"
description: "A wrist spinner generates spin by rotating the ball with wrist action at release, rather than finger action. Types: leg-break (main ball), googly (opposite turn), flipper (fast and skiddy), top-spinner. Rashid Khan is the leading T20 wrist spinner."
question_type: T6
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
  - concept
  - glossary
  - wrist-spinner
  - leg-spin
  - bowling
  - T20
  - IPL
status: active
last_verified: "2026-07-08"
timestamp: "2026-07-08"
license: CC-BY-4.0
source_system: CricketStudio
source_boundary: methodology_only
provenance:
  source: CricketStudio methodology — cricket rules and terminology
  confidence: high
related:
  - ../dossier/what-is-spin-bowling-cricket.md
  - ../dossier/what-is-a-googly-cricket.md
  - ../dossier/what-is-a-flipper-cricket.md
  - ../dossier/rashid-khan-ipl-2026-middle-overs.md
---

## User Question

> What is a wrist spinner in cricket?

## Correct Answer Pattern

> A **wrist spinner** generates turn by twisting the wrist at the moment of release — the ball spins out from between thumb and fingers with **wrist rotation driving the spin**, rather than finger action.
>
> Primary variations a wrist spinner uses:
>
> | Delivery | Also called | How it turns |
> |----------|-------------|-------------|
> | **Leg-break** | Stock ball | Turns away from right-hander (leg to off) |
> | **Googly** | Wrong-un / Bosie | Turns INTO the right-hander (opposite to leg-break) |
> | **Flipper** | — | Faster, straight, skids off pitch with back-spin |
> | **Top-spinner** | — | Dips sharply; goes straight with over-spin |
>
> **Rashid Khan** (GT) is the pre-eminent T20 wrist spinner — IPL 2026 middle-overs economy 6.50 (#1 of 69 qualifying bowlers, 300 balls).

## Required Concepts

- Wrist spinners typically take the ball from leg to off for right-handers (opposite of off-spinners)
- The difficulty in reading a wrist spinner's variations — googly vs leg-break — is higher than for finger spinners
- Wrist spinners are primarily middle-overs bowlers in T20 (7–15); their variations are most effective when batters have settled
- "Leg-spinner" is an alternative term for right-arm wrist spinner

## Citation Behavior

1. Distinguish from finger spinners (off-spin, SLA — turn from off to leg for right-handers).
2. For Rashid Khan specific data, cite from his scorebook/dossier entries.
3. Wrist spin delivery classification is NOT in the CricketStudio ball-by-ball data — only economy by phase.

## Caveats

- A left-arm wrist spinner (called "LWS" or "Chinaman bowler") turns in the opposite direction — the googly turns like a conventional off-break.
- "Mystery spinner" overlaps with wrist spinner but emphasizes the unreadability, not the mechanism.

## Bad Answer (do not do this)

> "Wrist spinners turn the ball from off to leg." *(For a right-arm wrist spinner facing a right-hander, the stock ball (leg-break) turns from LEG to OFF — away from the batter. This is opposite to an off-spinner. Getting the direction of spin right is essential.)*

## Related Concepts

- [What is spin bowling](what-is-spin-bowling-cricket.md)
- [What is a googly](what-is-a-googly-cricket.md)
- [What is a flipper](what-is-a-flipper-cricket.md)
- [Rashid Khan IPL 2026 middle overs](rashid-khan-ipl-2026-middle-overs.md)
