The fine craft of spin bowling - one where trickery and strategy meet variety - paints a pretty silhouette of romance between the ball and the stumps. Since 2008 and Harbhajan Singh, Mumbai Indians have always had impressive spin-bowlers in their ranks. They’ve been proper match-winners, giving the Paltan much to cheer about.

With just a few days before our latest IPL campaign starts, we introduce you to the spin maestros in Mumbai Indians’ Class of 2024.

1. Piyush Chawla

The ‘Professor’. Among the all-time leading wicket-takers in the IPL, PC is best known for being someone who doesn’t shy from imparting his innate bowling techniques and proving with his on-field displays - made famous with his wrong-uns and googlies - that age is just like a cricket stump on a good cricket pitch. Having scripted his best-ever IPL campaign in 2023 (22 wickets) and his son Advik, his biggest supporter, Piyush Chawla is ready to script fairytales with the ball for MI again with his leg spin.

2. Mohammad Nabi

In Mohammad Nabi, MI have got on board an experienced bowler who maintains a strict approach to spin - simple, tempting, and yet textbook-driven. As seen on international duty with Afghanistan or his globe-trotting stints in franchise cricket, Nabi loves testing a bowler’s patience at the crease with his precise dots and keen eye to pitch in lengths with little to no window for runs. In whichever phase of the game he gets to bowl, the Paltan can be assured of a game-defining impact from the Afghan icon.

3. Kumar Kartikeya

Hardwork, commitment, intent, and the passion to don the Blue and Gold - that perhaps sums up the continued rise of Kumar Kartikeya as a spinner and a winner with the ball. From a net bowler to a replacement to a dependable wicket-taker, KK has asserted himself as a vital player on the roster who can deliver whenever called upon. A left-arm spinner who can bowl leg-break, the googly, the carrom ball, and every variation possible in the spin dictionary, Kumar Kartikeya’s presence in the bowling unit is expected to send shivers down the opposition’s spine - as witnessed his brilliant run at Ranji Trophy 2024 (41 wickets in nine matches). 

4. Shreyas Gopal

It’s HOMECOMING time! 2014 saw Shreyas Gopal bring a promise. 2024 will see the Karnataka-born Kerala star deliver two things - wickets and a guaranteed ability to win games. A leg-spinner, who can apply sharp-turning drifts to the ball just like his idol Anil Kumble, Shreyas is a like-for-like backup to the veteran Piyush Chawla; but if fate has it, we could see both the leg-spinners take the field and pull off a joint successful heist for wickets.

5. Shams Mulani

Born and bred in the maidaans of Mumbai, Shams Mulani is all geared to walk the talk with the ball in IPL 2024. Although he hasn’t broken into the first-team yet, Shams has time and again proved why he is a great bowling resource to the team - if you look at his domestic stats for Mumbai (176 first-class wickets, 82 List A wickets and 52 T20 wickets). Left-arm spin, the confidence to negate the talking point of a pitch and the sheer perseverance to keep improving himself is why we believe it is only a matter of time that the IPL gets introduced to Shams Mulani, the Mumbai star.