Saurabh Kumar and Nishant Sindhu, keeping conventional left-arm spin alive

Saurabh Kumar is 30. He doesn’t have an IPL contract, and used those two months bowling at a single stump in Ghaziabad. In the last few years, he has been consent for Uttar Pradesh and India A, and is fifth in the pecking order after Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav to get into the Indian Test team.
On the other hand, Nishant Sindhu, at 19, is already a World Cup (U-19) winner, and got a fat IPL contract with Chennai Super Kings. Although he didn’t play a single match, he trained with MS Dhoni and received valuable tips from his childhood hero Jadeja.
Both Saurabh and Nishant took different career paths. Kumar used to travel to Delhi from Baghpat every day, a two-and-half-hour train journey, while Sindhu’s residence was close to Shri Ram Narain Cricket Academy, run former Haryana first-class cricketer and coach Ashwani Kumar. But the two have one similarity, they are conventional left-arm spinners, a rare species on the Indian domestic circuit.
“I never felt the need to make a lot of changes in my bowling. I have always bowled like this and will continue to do so. On a flat track, I use the crease, vary the lengths and try to deceive the basman in the air. I have never compromised with my length,” Kumar tells The Indian Express.

Meanwhile, Sindhu feels he needs to adapt to all formats. “Adaptability is key. In junior cricket, we generally play with the red ball. In the past one and a half years, I have played with the white ball in the U-19 World Cup, Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, Vijay Hazare Trophy and in practice matches at the CSK camp. I have kept the length the same. I had a lengthy chat with Jaddu bhai about bowling in Test cricket. His advice was to keep it simple and keep working on my strengths.”
In the Duleep Trophy quarter final against East Zone, Kumar bagged 11 wickets for Central Zone and it was his second innings spell of 8/64 that turned the tide of the match. Sindhu scored a strokeful century against North-East Zone and bagged a couple of wickets in North Zone’s thumping 511-run win.
On Wednesday, in the semifinals, Kumar’s Central Zone will take on West Zone, which has a star-studded batting line-up. He would be up against Cheteshwar Pujara, Suryakumar Yadav, Sarfaraz Khan, Prithvi Shaw, Priyank Panchal and Arpit Vasavada. Sindhu’s North Zone will face the Hanuma Vihar-led South Zone, with Mayank Agarwal, Sai Sudharsan and Pradosh Ranjan Paul their key batsmen.
Former India spinner Sunil Joshi explains why Kumar, with whom he had worked during his stint as coach of Uttar Pradesh, doesn’t rely on help from the surface and the reason he has been successful.
In the Duleep Trophy quarter final against East Zone, Kumar bagged 11 wickets for Central Zone and it was his second innings spell of 8/64 that turned the tide of the match. (File)
“Someone like Saurbah is successful because he has been very consent. My communication with him was on how to be more consent. You don’t need to change, let the batsman change. He followed that advice religiously, and because of that, he has been rewarded for his consent bowling performance,” said Joshi, who played 15 Tests and 69 ODIs for India.
Domestic stalwart
Kumar has been consently taking heaps of wickets in domestic cricket. In the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy season, he took 44 scalps at 21.09. In 2018-19, he claimed 51 wickets to go with 19 in the Duleep Trophy. These performances got him picked for India A, and later in the Indian Test squad against Sri Lanka.
“Look at Saurabh and how he has bowled against Bangladesh A or wherever he has got an opportunity. He is taking wickets. He is a conventional bowler and a master of his art,” said Joshi.
Joshi recalls an incident when he was with the Uttar Pradesh team and helped Kumar dismiss Pujara in both innings at Rajkot, which proved to be a turning point in his career.
“Against Saurashtra at Rajkot, he pinned Pujara in both the innings. I told him not to allow Pujara to step out, bowl quicker through the air so that he didn’t get runs. He never allowed Pujara to use his feet, bowled quicker than usual and trapped Pujara in both innings. The great thing about Saurabh is that he is a quick learner,” said Joshi.
Nishant Sindhu, at 19, is already a World Cup (U-19) winner, and got a fat IPL contract with Chennai Super Kings. (File)
“I have seen Nishant Sindhu from close range as well. He is young, but his bowling has flight and dip. My sincere suggestion to him is to try to focus on over-spin, not underspin or undercut. It will be hard, but will be for a lifetime,” he added.
Former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan feels the duo must contact Maninder Singh as they live close to Delhi.
“If they can, they should meet Maninder Singh in Delhi and have a chat with him. Train a couple of days under his watchful eyes. They will understand what a classical left-arm spinner should be doing. What kind of trajectories to bowl? When you bowl different trajectories, what are the speeds you need to bowl at?” he said.
In Bengaluru, Kumar wants to continue following his process and wait for his chance.

“I am only waiting for my chance. And whenever I get that opportunity, I will try to make the most of it. If I consently do well for Uttar Pradesh, Central Zone and India A, I will stay in the hunt,” said Kumar.
Sindhu, who has been picked for India A for the Emerging Asia Cup 2023 tournament, wants to excel with both bat and ball. “The selection for the Asia Cup is a confidence- booster. The aim is to score more hundreds and get more wickets.”