Saurabh Kumar is the only new face to feature in India's 18-man Test squad announced on Saturday for the upcoming two-match series against Sri Lanka. (More Cricket News)
Here's all you need to know about the Uttar Pradesh spinner:
Saurabh Kumar, 28, is a spinning all-rounder.
He was picked by Punjab Kings in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction at his base price of INR 20 lakh. In 2017, he was a part of the Rising Pune Supergiant outfit. But he never got to play a single IPL game that season.
Born in Baghpat, Saurabh Kumar plays for his native Uttar Pradesh. He is a domestic veteran now, having played 46 First Class, 25 List A and 33 T20 matches for various teams.
After failing to make the state team, Saurabh Kumar had previously turned up for the Indian Air Force. The left-arm orthodox bowler made his First Class debut for the Services team, in a Ranji Trophy match against Himachal Pradesh in 2014.
In FC, besides taking 196 FC wickets, he has also scored 1572 runs with two centuries and eight fifties. In List A, he has 37 wickets and 173 runs. He also has 24 wickets and 148 runs in T20s.
He was part of the India-A team which toured South Africa last year. In two matches during the shadow tour, Saurabh Kumar took four wickets. He was also named in the extended Indian squad for the England tour last year.
The story doing the rounds after his India call-up was that, like other small town cricketers, Saurabh Kumar struggled a lot. He used to travel to Delhi daily by train then take the us to the National Stadium to perfect his skills.
In fact, weeks before India's team announcement, he shared a profile picture with a simple quote, "keep going" on Instagram.
And of course, his father, who used to play kabaddi, gave every possible support a budding payer needed to fulfill his dreams.
"It would take us two-and-a-half hours to reach Delhi. Three times a week, I would come to Sunita Sharma’s academy. My father used to do over-time to make sure he accompanied me to Delhi," he was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
Then, there's his "carrom-varrom" statement.
"Mein ye carom-varom ball nahi daalta [I don’t bowl the carom ball]. I never liked it. I like to loop it and set up batsmen in the air," he added.
For the uninitiated, carrom ball is a fad nowadays. It's often delivered by off-spinners and left-arm spinners. In India, there are many crafty spinners who deploy carrom balls with good effect. Veteran Ravichandran Ashwin is one of the finest carrom ball exponents. Ashwin even calls his variation 'sodukku ball', with obvious reference to the flicking of fingers (in the Tamil language).
