Why Gujarat left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai stands out: Heaps of wickets, unorthodox run-up and high-jump-inspired action | Cricket News

Ahmedabad thoroughbred Siddharth Desai cannot put a finger on why his cricketing graph hasn’t witnessed adrenaline-pumping surges like the ones he experienced at the Universal Studios in Florida in the off-season. He cannot shake off the feeling of dizzying thrills from a dozen rollercoaster rides at the American film production giant’s exotic theme park resort, zealously recollecting it as the “best day of my life.” But when the discussion returns to cricket, a forlorn gaze stretches to the dance. Unlike a Universal movie set or the head-spinning amusement frills, the left-arm spinner has yet to realise a filmy tw to his First-Class career despite stockpiling near-ridiculous feats along the way.
Perhaps the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 semi-final, starting Monday, will usher in clarity to Gujarat’s lead spinner as he completes a circle. Eight years since making his First-Class debut and announcing his arrival with a six-wicket haul against Kerala at a quaint stadium in Nadiad, Desai gears up to face the same opposition in a knockout contest at the mighty Narendra Modi Stadium in his hometown.
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Unlike his veteran Kerala spin counterparts, Jalaj Saxena and Aditya Sarvate, Desai can dream hard and even admit being harshly let down already. In only seven seasons since his first Ranji appearance at 17, the 24-year-old Desai has pocketed 179 wickets at a sub-25 average, striking every 48 deliveries. A broader context places Desai fourth on the all-time Ranji charts for most wickets before turning 25. With two potential games left in his season, he could scale up to the second spot on that l behind Piyush Chawla (198) before calling in his next birthday in August.
With Gujarat making a semi-final spot for the first time since 2019-20, Desai may concur that a lack of consent presence in the knockouts for five years could have deprived him of an India A berth. But he is here to make amends.
“For four to five seasons, I have been taking close to 30 wickets a season. So it does bother me that I am not even getting into the Duleep Trophy or the India A side. It does bother me, but it keeps me motivated that ‘no, I don’t have to stop.’ I had kept a target of 50 for this season and then I will get that chance,” Desai tells The Indian Express as he leads Gujarat’s bowling charts with 35 scalps this Ranji edition.
Siddharth Desai bowling in nets. (Express photo Lalith Kalidas)
Jumbo wicket-taker
Desai made heads turn with a record-breaking nine-wicket haul (9/36) last month when the second phase of the Ranji season resumed against Uttarakhand. On a dewy January morning at the Gujarat College Ground, the young tweaker was thrown the new ball his seam-bowling captain, Chintan Gaja and coach Ramesh Powar. Story continues below this ad
Unlike other men of his tribe, Desai is an outlier who specialises in prising out opponents with the fresh red SG ball. Continuing a 15-over burst from one end, Desai razed down the Uttarakhand order with nine jolts, seven either bowled or leg-before. Raring to have a shot at the No. 11 bat in his next over, Desai was stumped when teammate Vishal Jayswal’s final delivery clinked the off pole.
“Vishal told me he won’t bowl in the stumps and keep it outside. Five bowls in and the last ball was also outside the off stump. But the ball didn’t turn and went in with the arm to clip the stumps. It was disappointing when I was this close,” Desai admits as he missed out on becoming only the fourth bowler to record the perfect 10 in the Ranji Trophy.
Desai is fast building a name for entering such manic sprees that he turns almost unplayable. When Karnataka set motoring on a 110-run chase at the Motera in January 2024 with a 50-run opening stand, Desai flipped the game on its head with six wickets in 26 balls, including the likes of Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal and Manish Pandey. Gujarat would eke out their narrowest Ranji win, bundling Karnataka on 103 with Desai finishing 7/42.
From a heap of left-armers in the circuit, Desai is a quick spot on the field with his unconventional, almost high-jump-inspired action, which begins with an unorthodox run-up and high arm that blends from over-to-round the stumps to the right-hander. A cricket-crazy dad thrust the sport upon him so early that Desai had no time to look beyond his shoulder. Desai’s late father, who ran a travel and tours company in the city, was a regular at all of his son’s matches. Story continues below this ad
“From when I was seven and right until the time of his death, I don’t think he missed any match, local or Ranji or whatever, that I played. He always wanted a cricketer in the family and would try to get me to start playing when I was a child saying I wouldn’t be fit if I didn’t play. He used to review my game every day and share new inputs,” he says.
Yet to chart a space on a full-blown white-ball cricket calendar, Desai still awaits his Gujarat T20 call-up. During an extended off-season, he catches up with his two elder sers in the United States with the latest trip ticking off the roller coaster marathon from the bucket l.
The Kerala challenge
Hope floats this summer on the field too with Gujarat’s bowling heavily pinned around Desai’s bursts. Relishing his Cheteshwar Pujara bait-trap from the quarter-final win over Saurashtra last week, Desai sure is dreaming of that Duleep Trophy and India A calls if he can push Gujarat back into the final after eight years.
But Kerala will be no pushovers after braving the J&K challenge on a Pune flatbed with dogged batting rearguards. With new heroes emerging beyond his old shoulders, Sachin Ba and Co. sported renewed confidence in the nets after being teased with a greenish strip on match eve. While Kerala deliberate including an extra pacer in the quest to make their maiden Ranji final, Desai’s golden spin arm hopes to leave a telling mark on the tie and deliver his vaguely static career’s first big break from his Amdavad backyard.