To be world class and overlooked at the same time is a strange cruelty. For years, Akeal Hosein has been exactly that.
Widely regarded as one of the best power bowlers in T20 cricket, the left-arm spinner, a man who reached the top of the T20I rankings, has somehow remained a marginal figure in the Indian Premier League, the sport’s biggest stage. One solitary season with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2023. That was all the IPL teams collectively thought was enough for a bowler of his calibre.
Chennai Super Kings thought otherwise. When they traded Ravindra Jadeja to Rajasthan Royals ahead of IPL 2026, they decided to fill the void and the man they backed was the 33-year-old Trinidadian. It turned out to be one of the smartest prams of the season.
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Seven goals in five games. Economy rate 7.24. A four-wicket demolition of Mumbai Indians. A crucial breakthrough against the tournament’s top scorer in Delhi on Tuesday, May 5. The numbers do. But they are only just beginning to tell the story of what Hosein has brought to CSK this season.
BRAVERY IN POWERPLAY
The power play is the most ruthless arena for cricketers. Two fielders allowed outside the 30 yard circle. Batters freed, eager to plunder. For most spinners, it is a theater of anxiety. For Hosein, it is home.
However, what sets him apart from the ordinary isn’t just skill. It’s his way of thinking. He speaks of bravery as a seasoned warrior speaks of hard-won wisdom.
“I think it’s about bravery,” Hosein said after CSK’s eight-wicket win over Delhi Capitals on Tuesday.
“One thing I keep saying when I keep getting asked this question is Dwayne Bravo said as bowlers, and spinners in particular, you get hit in the power bowl. It’s about taking that fear factor out of the game.”
It’s just about working with two players in the field off the power play. It’s about being brave and I’m a big believer in homework.”
This philosophy, courage combined with preparation, is the cornerstone of everything Hosein does. He doesn’t walk towards his bowling mark hoping for the best. He arrives with his work already done, his batter already mapped out, ready to read the pitch and make a quick decision about what the surface will ask for.
Against Delhi Capitals on Tuesday at the Arun Jaitley Stadiumthe preparation was perfect. The pitch offered help to the spinners and Hosein took stock early on. KL Rahul, the leading run-scorer of the 2026 IPL season with over 400 runs to his name, was at the wicket – a player widely recognized as one of the best spinners in world cricket. The challenge could not have been more pronounced.
But Hosein had a plan. “The basic knowledge I had coming into this match is that it’s not going to reflect that much,” he explained. “So bowling the smaller guys, your lengths change completely. For me, when I saw the pitch, I wanted to spin it as much as I could.”
He spun it. Rahul, who looked like he would hit it with spin and clean long-on, instead skied one to mid-on. Delhi Capitals were leading 36 for 2 after 5.1 overs, their over was destroyed.
THE ART OF SETTING TRAPS
What makes Rahul’s dismissal particularly instructive is not just the ball that got him out, but the thought process behind it. Hosein is not a bowler who gets wickets by accident. He builds them brick by brick, again by another.
“You have to be open and ready for any challenge,” he said. “You try to stick to the plan. It’s about getting the shot where your boundary players are. I had a long and a middle wicket. So I want to force those guys to hit in those areas. Luckily he got caught trying to cross the long shot.” Akeal, who picked the big wicket of KL Rahul, played a key role in CSK’s win. (PTI Photo)
Fortunately, he says with the quiet restraint of a man who knows exactly how much luck had to do with it.
There was nothing understated about his performance earlier in the season against Mumbai Indians. A four-wicket haul that dismantled MI’s batting line-up, numbers that rank as the second-best CSK bowlers against MI in IPL history. He returned with 4 for 17 – clinical, disciplined, devastating.
DON’T BE HAMAN
Yet for all his wicket-taking prowess, Hosein is equally emphatic that economy, not greed, must be the Nordic star’s driving force.
“You need to have that mental strength and skill, especially when you get pitches that don’t lead to spin,” he said.
“In powerplay you only have two players in the field, it’s not a job where you can look for wickets or be too greedy. It’s just about sticking to the plan. At the end of the day if you don’t get wickets but you play economically then you’ve done a great job for the team.”
THE EVOLUTION OF THE CRAFTSMAN
IPL 2026 also revealed that Hosein is not just executing the formula he has always possessed. It is evolving. Throughout his international career, his main weapons have been his swing ball, a delivery that comes off right-handers and his ability to target the stumps relentlessly, which has earned him 21 wickets at an economy of 6.2 against right-handed batsmen since 2024 alone.
This season he has been bolder with his stock ball, classic spinner delivery, conversion to right-hander. He didn’t abandon the armball, but used it differently, deploying it to set up shots rather than as a primary offensive option. The shift is subtle but significant. It signals a bowler who is confident enough to lead with his spin, challenge the batsman to play and beat them with spin rather than deviation.
“Fortunately, I can spin and throw an armball,” Hosein said.
“It’s about choosing which delivery will give me more success against a particular bowler and under certain conditions.”
This adaptability, a willingness to quickly assess conditions and recalibrate, is the hallmark of a truly elite T20 bowler. Hosein has it in abundance.
NOOR EFFECT
Perhaps the most underrated dimension of Hosein’s contribution to ČSK this season lies not in what he does with the ball himself, but in what he enables others to do.
Noor Ahmed, the young Afghan all-rounder, has been one of CSK’s top bowlers in IPL 2026 with 11 wickets in 10 matches. At first glance, these are strong numbers. But dig a layer deeper and a striking pattern emerges: nine of those 11 goals came in five matches where Hosein played alongside him. The spin duo of Noor Ahmed and Akeal Hosein has been crucial for CSK in IPL 2026. (Photo: IPL)
This is not a coincidence. This is knowledge transfer in action.
“When I get the opportunity to play first, I want to make that assessment as quickly as possible and then pass the information to Noor or even the sailors,” Hosein said.
“So the conversations with me and Noor have been fantastic. I’m really happy that he’s having success. It’s about passing on the information so that when my teammates come on the field, they can be more successful than me and put our team in a position to win.”
There is something truly rare about a pitcher who frames his excellence in terms of what he can do for his teammates. Hosein first reads the pitch, understands its character, and then passes that intelligence down the chain. By the time Noor runs into the bowl, the ground has already been mapped.
IPL OVERVIEWED GEM
The wider question that IPL 2026 raises is damning for franchises that have looked beyond Hosein for so long. Here is the man who has 261 T20 wickets from 278 matches. The man who has shone in most franchise T20 leagues has proved his worth in T20 World Cups, holding the highest T20I rankings for spinners. And yet, for more than a decade, no IPL franchise considered him a permanent investment.
CSK yes. And the rewards are seen every time he runs into the bowling in the first six overs – measured, unhurried, in complete command.
Hosein himself is philosophical about not playing every match for CSK this season.
“I think it can be difficult, but you have to be open,” he said.
“For me, it’s about what the team requires. We’re open to making decisions that are made for the team. I know the staff is doing what’s best for the team.”
It’s the composure of a man comfortable in his own skin. One who has waited long enough, worked hard enough and earned the right to let his bowling do the talking.
In IPL 2026, the King of Powerplay finally has his kingdom. And it accounts for every surplus.
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– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
06 May 2026 10:34 IST
