Saurabh Dubey has lit up the stage at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata by taking the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. It is his only third match in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and he is already showing what he can do with the white ball in hand.
Winning the toss, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane chose to field first against the Mumbai Indians (MI), who have Rohit Sharma in their batting line-up. It is widely known that on this very ground, the Mumbai-born has played multiple remarkable knocks in the past.
Two crucial wickets for KKR and Saurabh Dubey
So, it was needful for KKR to take Rohit Sharma’s wicket as early as possible. Saurabh Dubey put a smile on Ajinkya Rahane’s face by clinching ‘Hitman’s scalp. Soon after getting rid of Rohit, the 6’5″ tall pacer from Wardha dismissed Suryakumar Yadav as well. But who is Saurabh Dubey, who has become another sensation in this season’s Indian Premier League? Let’s find out.
Who is Saurabh Dubey?
Saurabh Dubey is among the rarest talents from Vidharbha who represented the India Under-23 side. There have been multiple cricketers from the state, but the seamer is the first ever to play for the India U-23 team. He was selected for the national side for a one-day series against Bangladesh.
He fell in love with cricket since his childhood days, but had no clue how to enter the professional world. Once, who played only with the tennis ball, joined Wardha’s Brotherhood Cricket Association in 2016. It was the year when he, for the first time, felt a leather ball. His parents, Rajendra Prasad, who is a priest, and Mangla, wanted Dubey to become an engineer, but Saurabh chose his career in the lush green fields.
Former Vidarbha bowling coach Subroto Bannerjee was amongst the first to recognise the talent. He helped the pacer to include into the academy.
“I still remember the ball he bowled. It came beautifully out of his hand, swung in, and knocked off the middle stump. That was it. I told Prashant (Vaidya) to bring this boy to the Academy. I am happy with Saurabh’s progress. He deserves to be in the India Under-23 squad. If handled properly, he has the talent to go the distance,” Bannerjee told Times of India.
Saurabh would run away from home to play night tennis ball cricket tournaments. His brother advised him to play the Brotherhood Premier League in Wardha. That’s where we spotted him. It was his ability to bowl yorkers under pressure that impressed us,” he added.
The previous domestic season proved very crucial for Saurabh Dubey. He grabbed attention for the Vidharbha cricket team during the Col CK Nayudu Trophy where he bagged 35 wickets in 9 matches at an average of 18.02 with 2 five-wicket and 1 4-wicket hauls.
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