What is Carrom Ball in Cricket and the History of Carrom Ball?
Carrom ball is a unique type of delivery that off-spinners use as a weapon to take wickets. Nowadays, Ravichandran Ashwin uses a lot of carrom ball delivery in his spell. The carrom ball spinner makes an unusual grip with the thumb, forefinger, and middle finger. They bent the middle finger to create an illusion for the batsman, and flick the thumb at the time of delivery.
As cricket has become fast-forward, spinners who can experiment and don’t have fear of big hits are a must for any team. Spinners have provided quality to their team and always experiment and outsmart the batter. Spinners experiment and evolve in every game.
After the introduction of T20 cricket, spinners became a necessity for every team. They can outsmart batters and can slow the game. Spinners always come into middle-overs and do out-of-the-box things. Ashwin is one of the few spinners who always tries new things and uses the Carrom ball a lot. Sri Lanka’s Ajanta Mendis has used carrom balls for many years, and it is said that his carrom ball was one of the finest deliveries that can beat any batter very easily. Let’s see how the carrom ball is generated.
History of Carrom Ball
The carrom ball is one of the best-utilized deliveries in modern-day cricket by a spinner. According to the BCCI domestic cricket news today, it is also known as the Sodukku ball in some parts of India. When anyone bent his middle finger and flicked the thumb to impart the spin, it is known as the carrom ball. It was originated by the Australian bowler Jack Iverson in the early 1950s. He flick the ball with his finger at the time of the release of the ball and later this delivery is known as the carrom ball because it was similar to the action of playing carrom. We hit the striker for the carrom disk on the carrom board by flicking our thumbs. Carrom is also one of the popular indoor games. In some parts of India, it is also known as Sodukku ball because Sodukku means snapping of fingers.
With time it disappeared, and bowlers didn’t use this delivery too much, but Sri Lanka’s Ajanta Mendis remerged this delivery during the 2008 Asia Cup. Ajanta Mendis has taken too many wickets in his career on the carrom ball and made it world famous. After him, Ravichandran Ashwin popularized it, and he used this delivery very often, and it is like his signature ball of Ashwin.
In Chennai, it is also known as Sodukku, and in Tamil, Sodukku means the snapping of fingers. According to Ashwin, he first learned about the snapping of fingers while playing street cricket in Chennai. It helped him to deliver the perfect carrom ball delivery.
Carrom ball plays a vital role in Ashwin’s career, and he took nine wickets in his debut match against West Indies in 2011. Marlon Samuels was his first victim of carrom ball. Nowadays, many finger spinners have tried carrom balls and found success. In a recent interview, New Zealand left spin bowler Mitchel Santer said he uses the carrom ball to Fakhar Zaman and finds success.
Bowlers Who Become the Trademark of Carrom Ball
Ajanta Mendis
He is the reason behind the popularity of the carrom ball in modern cricket. Carrom’s ball disappeared in the 90s, but he was introduced in 2008 to the world. He is known as the mystery spinner, and his carrom ball was unplayable on his peak days. Despite a good record, he struggled to make his place in the Sri Lanka team and was in and out all the time. He played 19 test matches, 87 ODI, and 39 T20 matches and took 70, 152, and 66 wickets respectively. He has the best bowling figures in T20 cricket. He retired from international cricket in 2019.
Ravichandran Ashwin
If Ajanta Mendis introduced the carrom ball, then Ashwin defined the carrom ball. It is the main part of his big and successful career. He always experiments with his bowling, and a perfect carrom ball is the result of the experiment. Sometimes he uses a carrom ball more than his usual delivery. He has played 86 tests, 113 ODI, and 65 T20 matches and taken 442, 151, and 72 wickets respectively for India. He was on the BCCI domestic cricket news today after the dismissal of Jos Buttler.
Sunil Narayan
If you want to know the real mystery bowling, see Sunil Narayan bowling. A true legend and a match-winner. Sunil Narayan Is a mystery spinner from the West Indies who has performed on various occasions. He is part of the IPL and KKR team, is majorly successful there, and plays in leagues all over the world. Sunil played 6 test matches, 65 ODI, and 51 T20 matches for the West Indies and took 21, 92, and 52 wickets respectively. He also has played 148 IPL matches and taken 152 wickets.
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