28-year-old all-rounder Saurabh Kumar from Uttar Pradesh had one of his dreams fulfilled when he received his maiden call-up to the Indian national team on Saturday.
Saurabh was named in the squad to face Sri Lanka for a 2-Test series in March in the absence of Axar Patel, who continues his recovery from an injury that was followed by covid-19 that has seen him miss the South Africa tour and then the West Indies series.
With R Ashwin (availability subject to fitness) and the returning Ravindra Jadeja being India’s premier spinners, Saurabh will compete with Kuldeep Yadav and Jayant Yadav for the position of the third spinner that India usually opts for in home conditions.
Saurabh Kumar is a genuine all-rounder who bowls left-arm orthodox spin and is a decent batsman. Chief selector Chetan Sharma, while addressing press conference on Saturday, said that he and other selectors had been impressed by Saurabh Kumar when the all-rounder played in the India A team against South Africa A in November and December.
In two matches then against South Africa A, Saurabh took 4 wickets and managed 23 runs. His economy of 2.74 was notable as he kept one end tight, building up the pressure.
Overall, Saurabh Kumar has taken 196 first-class wickets in 46 matches at an impressive average of 24, with 16 five-wicket hauls, 9 four wicket-hauls, and six 10-wicket match hauls. With the bat, the left-hander averages 29 and has slammed a couple of centuries to go with 8 fifties.
Born in 1993 Kumar in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, Saurabh has been on the circuit for a long time. He played domestic cricket for UP at under-19 and under-22 levels. He made his Ranji Trophy debut for Services in 2014 against Himachal Pradesh, and later joined UP’s domestic side.
In the 2018-19 Ranji season, Saurabh took 51. In 2019-20, he snared 44 wickets at 21.09, paving way to the India A side. He has been trained by the legendary Indian spinner Bishan Singh Bedi.
He was picked up by the Rising Pune Supergiants for INR 10 lakh at IPL auction in 2017, but didn’t get a game. Going unsold for the next three auctions, Punjab Kings bought him for 20 lakh in the IPL 2021 auction; he didn’t get a game either that season and wasn’t purchased by anyone in the IPL 2022 mega-auction. However, if he gets a chance in the India shirt, strong performances would keep him in good stead going forward.
