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Leg-spinners have always been a rare breed in the top levels of Bangladesh cricket.

Alok Kapali, an all-rounder primarily selected for his batting and then for his wrist spin, has the most wickets as a leggie for Bangladesh with 32, which probably sums up the situation.

His record, however, is set to be broken shortly by 21-year-old Rishad Hossain, who already has 30 international wickets to his name, and could be the one to change the scenario of the country’s leg-spin.

The youngster picked up 14 wickets for Bangladesh in the recently concluded T20 World Cup – joint-most by a leg-spinner in the tournament – and received praise from around the world for his bowling display.

However, the biggest contribution that Rishad might have had is the way Bangladesh cricket will be looking at leg-spinners from now on, as the Bangladesh Cricket Board has already started looking for a new generation of wrist spinners.

The game development wing of BCB ran a talent scouting programme earlier this year to find new leg-spinners and picked 100 players from around the country, with former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Mahmood overseeing the process.

‘We picked 25 wrist-spinners – leg-spinners and left-arm chinamen—from this programme, and they already underwent a two-week training camp. We are also planning to bring them back again at the end of this month for another training camp,’ Kawser Mahmud, a BCB game development official, told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·.

‘Most of these leg-spinners are between 15 and 19 years of age. We have a long-term plan to get them ready.’

Bangladesh are also trying to integrate leg-spinners through their age-level teams, as the current Under-19 national team setup – aimed for the 2026 World Cup – has three leg spinners, while the previous World Cup squad already had two in Mohammad Shihab James and Wasi Siddiquee.

‘Our current U-19 setup already has three leg-spinners in them. If needed, we will provide the team with more from the players we have scouted from across the country. Besides that, we have also made it mandatory for divisional and district age-level teams to play a leg-spinner, ensuring they are developed,’ Kawser said.

Humayun Kabir Sahin, a local coach who worked for Bangladesh Premier League franchise Comilla Victorians and was also involved in the leg-spinner hunt by BCB, believes that while the age-level programmes will help to produce leg-spinners, they must get the opportunity to play at higher levels to ensure that they become ready for international cricket.

‘Many teams do not trust leg-spinners. They want to win, so they go with safe options in finger spinners as leg-spinners, on their bad day, may go for a lot of runs. You cannot get players ready for big stages like this where they will be dropped after one bad performance,’ he told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·.

‘BCB are doing well with their age-level programmes. But to prepare these leg-spinners for the international level, they need to play in the Dhaka Premier League, BPL, first, second, and third division. If they get that backing, then I can guarantee you that Bangladesh will have at least five more quality leg-spinners in the coming years.’