The 25-year-old leg spinner from Lucknow played in the U-19 World Cup 2016 for India U-19.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 has already seen several new or unknown players coming and impressing with their superior skill sets. Another exciting talent, Zeeshan Ansari, is making his IPL debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the clash against Delhi Capitals (DC).
A 25-year-old leg spinner from Lucknow, Zeeshan played in the U-19 World Cup 2016 for India U-19. That was among the strongest U-19 batches ever, and Zeeshan was no different.
He played only two matches in the competition, snaring two wickets at 31 runs apiece and conceding only 4.13 runs per over. Further, he scored 37 runs at a 100 strike rate in those two innings with the willow.
Soon after the tournament, Zeeshan made his first-class debut for Uttar Pradesh against Railways in 2017. He had a fabulous start to his red-ball career, grabbing three wickets each in both innings and impressed everyone.
However, the leg spinner didn’t get regular opportunities for Uttar Pradesh and has played only five first-class games. He has 17 wickets at 30.76 runs apiece in nine outings, with a best of 6/125.
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Further, he has played only a solitary T20 for Uttar Pradesh in a Syed Mushtaq Ali fixture in 2019. Zeeshan went wicketless in the game and has never played any T20 game at the domestic level since, even though he has been playing in the local competitions.
His best performance in the Uttar Pradesh T20 League (UPT20) 2024 was when he bowled exceptionally well and dismissed batters for fun. Playing for Meerut Mavericks, Zeeshan took 24 wickets at an average of 13.25 while conceding only 7.60 runs per over to end as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament.
One of his most notable aspects was death-over bowling. He took nine wickets and conceded only 7.40 runs per over in this phase. While he was equally effective in the middle overs, the fact that he can operate defensively in slog overs is a big bonus.
His superior bowling performances were instrumental in Meerut Maverick’s title-winning campaign. Soon, he grabbed the limelight, and SRH scouts recommended him to the team management.
As it turned out, SRH bought Zeeshan Ansari for INR 40 Lakh in the IPL 2025 auction. Clearly, they were impressed with his expertise in the nets and decided to give him a game early in the tournament.
Zeeshan Ansari is a floaty leg spinner who turns the ball in both directions at a slower pace. His low speeds allow him to extract more deviation off the deck, even if the surface is flat.
Modern-day spinners usually try to bowl at a quicker pace with flatter trajectories, but Zeeshan still gives importance to traditional leg-spin bowling, which makes him exciting. He allows himself more chances of taking wickets since he tempts batters to hit him down the ground.
However, he must be smarter in IPL, where batters are more skilled and know how to get under the ball. Zeeshan’s pace variation will be an interesting study, but he might get some assistance in Visakhapatnam, where the surface has looked slightly dry.
He mostly bowled in the second half of the innings in UPT20 2024, so how Cummins uses him will be vital. DC have several quality spin players in the middle order, so Zeeshan will have his task cut out in his maiden assignment.
That teams haven’t faced him at this stage gives him the upper hand, and Zeeshan must make the most of this opportunity. SRH have preferred him over Adam Zampa and Rahul Chahar, who are more experienced, and he will look to step up to the expectations.
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