Teenage Indian left-arm spinner Saumy Kumar Pandey, one of many main wicket-takers within the ongoing U19 World Cup in South Africa, possesses a placing similarity to Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling motion.
The motive is straightforward: the veteran India allrounder is Pandey’s inspiration.
Hailing from Rewa in Madhya Pradesh, Pandey was fascinated by Jadeja’s physique language and intent on the sphere and tried each single day to emulate his icon.
The cricketer has proven large potential for the longer term with 16 wickets in 5 video games up to now, with a better of 4/19.
“Jadeja has been his inspiration. He has been fascinated by Jadeja’s body language and fielding intent,” Pandey’s childhood coach Aril Anthony advised PTI on Tuesday.
According to Anthony, Pandey can also be an excellent pupil, who handed his larger secondary topics with flying colors.
So, what made him foray into cricket? “Initially, when he started playing cricket at age 7 or 8, he was physically very weak. He was advised by doctors to do some physical activity to boost his immunity,” added Anthony.
“His father told me that he had a huge interest in cricket since childhood and was able to hold the bat at the age of three or four.
“He was a sharp kid. Even in academics, he scored around 93 per cent in Higher Secondary. His parents wanted him to be an engineer or a doctor but were left spellbound after seeing him bowl under my guidance (chuckles).
“He has a knack of grasping things quickly and implements them well, which is what you are currently witnessing at the World Cup,” stated his coach.
Both his dad and mom are authorities academics, which could possibly be the explanation he has excelled in teachers and in addition shortly honed the intricacies of spin bowling.
Anthony stated that when Pandey, the best wicket-taker for India within the U19 World Cup up to now, got here to him, {the teenager}’s want was to turn out to be an all-rounder like Jadeja.
“He wanted to become an all-rounder and was very much interested in batting as well. However, the skill that impressed me the most was his bowling, and I advised him to focus on his bowling. He started as a spinner; he was never into fast bowling,” added Anthony.
Anthony stated that apart from bagging 135 wickets within the final three years on the junior degree, Pandey additionally completed because the second-highest wicket-taker in district-level U16 and U19 tournaments.
He has additionally fared properly within the 2022-23 Cooch Behar Trophy, the place he emerged because the second-highest wicket-taker for Madhya Pradesh, scalping 23 wickets in 9 innings at a median of 15.17.
Pandey’s good run of kind might entice him in direction of the Indian Premier League however Anthony has cautioned the teenager to not get carried away.
“Currently, he is focused on white-ball cricket, and I have advised him to focus only on one-day cricket for now. He has shared his dream of playing in the IPL, but I have told him not to think about it now.
“Suppose he gets picked by an IPL team now and is hammered for sixes aplenty, it could affect his confidence. So, he should progress step by step, starting with India U19, followed by the Ranji Trophy, and then thinking about Team India and the IPL.
“He has started getting IPL-related calls. It will depend on how he fares in the next domestic season. If he fares well and confidently tells me about going to the IPL, I will give him the go-ahead. But I can’t predict if there will be a bidding war for him, which will depend on his domestic performance,” he stated.
Anthony feels Pandey has achieved a very good job as vice-captain of the U19 World Cup crew. The coach felt that the important thing to turning into a profitable chief is attending to know the teammates properly and “opening up to them”.
“I told him that during team meetings, he has to talk to every player and get to know more about them. Some players don’t participate in team meetings, and he has to deal with them first. In the World Cup, while he has displayed aggression, he likes to work with the team.” Anthony cautioned his ward that in an effort to make a spot within the senior India facet, he wouldn’t simply face competitors from residence state gamers however from cricketers throughout the nation.
“There are a lot of players in contention for Team India berths, and not all are lucky enough. While he (Pandey) would need to work hard, sometimes luck also is a factor.
“India currently has three senior teams, and all the players in it have made an impact. So, he would not only get competition from his state players but cricketers from across India,” he added.