He troubled batters with his bounce and movement, which is a lethal combination, during the U-19 tournaments.
The Ranji Trophy provides opportunities for several young talents to showcase their talent to the world. One such player Nishanth Saranu made his Ranji Trophy debut for Hyderabad against Gujarat on the first day of a fresh season.
At six-foot and nine-inch, Nishanth already impressed several players and coaches, even before making his red-ball debut. He didn’t play proper cricket until 2021 and only took sports to lose weight.
“I was too chubby and weighed 102kgs. I tried badminton and didn’t succeed. I even tried tennis, but it didn’t work out. So I took up cricket for recreation and after that everything happened so fast that even I wonder ‘what really happened?’ because I always thought I wasn’t cut out for sports,” stated Nishant to The Indian Express.
Like most young bowlers, he also imitated Jasprit Bumrah’s action at the start. However, after joining the Coaching Beyond Academy in Hyderabad, run by R Sridhar, former India fielding coach, he developed his own action with the guidance of TA Sekhar, who worked on his run-up and load-up while also helping him fine-tune his action to avoid injuries.
Sridhar revealed they worked on his rhythm and action because he was raw when he came while ensuring correct body coordination, which could be an issue for a lanky pacer. Bharat Arun, former India bowling coach, worked on his action and delivery strides in the academy.
“When he came on the scene, he was raw. But you could see with his height, if he acquired the right skill set, he would go places. Height was his X-factor. So we just worked on his action, rhythm and fitness because when you are as tall as him, coordination could be a slight issue. And we worked on body coordination and got him ready. He has come along well in fielding as well. His action and delivery stride had to be worked on and the good thing is Arun is also keeping an eye on him. Whenever he is here, he works on his bowling,” exclaimed Sridhar.
During the World Cup 2023, the 19-year-old was Pakistan’s net bowler, which attracted the interest of Morne Mokel, who was with Pakistan as a bowling coach. In fact, Morne took his phone number to keep in touch.
Given Morkel is now with India as a bowling coach, he will definitely work more with him and improve his skills further. He might be the ideal one to guide Nishanth at this stage, for the attributes of both bowlers are similar.
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Initially, he used to bowl around 125-130 km/h, even though he generated significant bounce. During the net sessions, Haris Rauf told him his pace would increase once he crossed 18 because he would develop more muscles, and it happened.
When India went to Hyderabad for the first Test against England in Hyderabad, Nishanth impressed Rahul Dravid, who was India’s head coach then. While featuring in the Vijay Merchant and Cooch Behar Trophy, Mumbai Indians (MI) scouts spotted him, and Nishanth became a net bowler of the team during this year’s IPL.
He bowled well in the nets, where he mostly talked to Gerald Coetzee while getting useful information from Jasprit Bumrah and others. His slower deliveries were arduous to pick for batters in MI net sessions.
He played in the U-19 Challengers Trophy and the Quadrangular Series but couldn’t make it to the U-19 World Cup in South Africa due to being a late arrival in these tournaments. He played two matches in the Quadrangular Series and took 6 wickets at 17.50 runs apiece, including a four-wicket haul.
It’s still early days, but the initial impressions suggest Nishanth can generate some movement off the deck. He troubled batters with his bounce and movement, which is a lethal combination, during the U-19 tournaments.
He would have enjoyed playing in South Africa where the tracks are lively and produce extra bounce and carry. He would have been unplayable due to his height, for his natural lengths would have been ideal for those conditions but not to be.
On his first day in red-ball debut, Nishanth took two crucial wickets, dismissing Priyank Panchal and Umang Kumar, conceding 46 runs in his 12-over spell. Given his height and quick learning ability, he is one to watch out for and will improve from here on.
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