Saurabh Kumar has diligently plied his trade for more than a decade in domestic cricket, taking close to 350 first-class wickets with his left-arm spin. However, only 12 of those wickets came during the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season. His sudden dip in form came as a major surprise for domestic-cricket faithfuls.
Saurabh, though, didn’t give up. The bowling all-rounder shifted his base from Uttar Pradesh to Andhra and rediscovered his form. In the ongoing Ranji season, he has already plucked 23 wickets at an average of 19.08.
In an exclusive chat with RevSportz, this is what Saurabh had to say about how he regained his mojo. “I did well in the Duleep Trophy last season, taking 9-10 wickets, and there was a five-wicket haul. But in the Ranji Trophy, it didn’t go that well,” he said. “I had played 10 seasons before this. And this was the most normal season for me. I felt I was trying too much, that I have to do something different. As a result, I was putting too much effort.
“This season, I saw where I went wrong, and worked hard on it. There was no real issue with my skills, but I was trying too hard to take wickets. Due to that, the things I would do over 2-3 overs, I would end up doing too soon. The batters were getting a cue of what I was doing early,” he added.
In that context, did Saurabh feel emotional about leaving UP? After all, Saurabh’s dreams took shape near a railway track in Baghpat, where he and his friends used to play the game of willow and leather. He then came through Uttar Pradesh’s junior ranks before representing the senior state team across formats. “It was a bit emotional, I have played for UP since I was in the Under-15 age-group. I played for them for 16 years. But in the end, it was about my future. How could I showcase my potential? Where could I get more chances?”
After moving over to Andhra, Saurabh has also found a regular place in the T20 side. He gave a glimpse of his quality with a couple of redoubtable performances in high-scoring games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. One of them was against Punjab, where he ended up with figures of 1 for 24 from four overs. It was his spell that restricted Punjab to a score of 205, with Andhra chasing down the target.
He was at it again versus the eventual champions, Jharkhand, finishing up with game-turning figures of 2 for 21 from three overs. Even the big-hitting Ishan Kishan couldn’t chart a route versus the disciplined left-arm spinner. “For UP, I didn’t play much T20 cricket at the start of my career as Kuldeep and Piyush Chawla used to get picked.
“After Covid-19, two times I couldn’t partake in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as I was representing India ‘A’. I was also the net bowler in the Indian team. Then they stopped giving me chances in the SMAT. But I am good enough to play all 3 formats, I want to play white-ball cricket as well, that is why I moved here to Andhra,” he pointed out.
After partaking in the SMAT, Saurabh also tested his skills against ‘King Kohli’ in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game at the Centre of Excellence. The pitch was flat and the ground was a small one. Despite the conditions being against Saurabh, he didn’t allow Kohli to get on top of him.
Saurabh’s concentration prowess could be observed when he anticipated Kohli’s move to skip down the track and bowled it wider of off-stump. Although the umpire adjudged it as a wide, it told enough about Saurabh’s traits to watch the feet of the batter. “It was a good experience to bowl to him, he is such a big cricketer,” he said. “I was trying to keep it simple, bowl within the wickets, not trying to give any room,” he said. “I thought he was trying to step out and I bowled it wider,” he added.
To gauge Saurabh’s temperament, one has to listen to what Sunita Sharma, his childhood coach, had once told this writer. “If you say something to him technically, he would work on that. I used to watch him quietly without his knowledge. I would take the ball and tell him, ‘You keep spinning the ball and he used to spin the ball for one hour.’ I would also tell him, ‘Not to leave (spinning) the ball, if you get tired, keep it in your pocket, after that again start spinning the ball (and he would do the same).'”
Despite having all the attributes to wear the white flannels for the country, Saurabh is yet to make his Test debut. The left-arm spinner was picked twice in the Indian Test squad in 2022 – versus Sri Lanka and then against Bangladesh – but on both occasions he had to warm the benches. Saurabh has a rather philosophical take on it. “When I came into the side, those guys were doing really well, and I felt there was no place for me. I was coming in as a replacement. Jadeja bhai, Ashwin are legends, Axar also was doing very well, Kuldeep also is doing well,” he quipped.
Saurabh also hasn’t represented any of the IPL franchises so far. With the left-arm spinner establishing himself as one of the mainstays of the Andhra T20 side, he still has a window of opportunity in front of him. The all-rounder is also eyeing improvements with regard to his power-hitting skills.
“Obviously, I would want to play in the IPL, that is why I want to play in the SMAT. I will keep trying, CSK asked me to come for trials, but it didn’t work out. I am working hard on my fitness. And I always try to improve my batting. With the red ball, I practice playing long innings. I also practice my hitting skills, I keep pushing myself,” he noted.
It isn’t just about individual performances, but Saurabh also has team goals in his mind. Incidentally, Andhra have put on creditable performances this season, with Gary Stead helming the affairs as the head coach. Saurabh chimes in by praising the former New Zealand coach and the rest of the backroom staff.
“We have been playing some very good red-ball cricket, we won 3 outright. Out of it, I have also contributed,” he said. “Gary Stead, Vinith Indulkar bhai, Vikram (Verma) sir… they are very nice. There is a lot of positivity, the team environment is good. Gary has devised good plans, Vinith too.
“We were recently playing a (Ranji Trophy) game against Tamil Nadu in Vizag and chasing 200 (201). The wicket was staying a bit low. Stead said, ‘Play with intent, no need to block.’ For a coach, you need that kind of confidence to say something like that.” As it happened, Andhra chased down the target for the loss of six wickets.
Long ago, after watching Saurabh’s bowling, the legendary Bishan Singh Bedi had said to his childhood coach, “‘Is ko bilkul sambhal ka rakhna [please take good care of him], he is an outstanding left-arm spinner.'”
On the domestic circuit, Saurabh has fulfilled his promise by befuddling batters with his flight and guile. Bedi, though, perhaps envisaged higher honours for the young prodigy. At 32, Saurabh would still believe in his vision to don the national colours. And having watched his perseverance over the years, you wouldn’t want to count out the quiet and unassuming spinner from realising his aspirations.
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