Mumbai: Off-spin bowling in its classical form may be getting dated with the rise of power-hitting in T20s and attacking batting across formats, but tall bowlers with an ability to extract bounce and use the angles are being employed more often.
England blooded a 20-year-old Shoaib Bashir in the tough Test series in India early this year and he has done well since that impressive debut. In India, quite a few spinners who have modelled their action on R Ashwin’s are progressing well in the domestic circuit. It was Mahesh Pithiya who made a name last year after being called up by the visiting Australia for their pre-series preparations. He is shaping up well with four 5-wicket hauls for Baroda in the Ranji Trophy.
Mumbai youngster Himanshu Singh, whose action mirrors Ashwin’s, was called to bowl in the India nets before the Bangladesh Tests. He has since impressed with 16 wickets in his three Ranji outings.
In his first Ranji game on a red soil pitch at Mumbai’s BKC ground against Odisha, there wasn’t much spin on offer. However, Himanshu used his 6’4” frame to extract considerable bounce and used the angle coming around the wicket to finish with figures of 52.2-5-130-7 in the match; most batters were caught in the slip cordon. “Cricket has changed, so you have to work on angles,” said the 21-year-old.
In his growing up years, Himanshu’s idols were Ashwin and Nathan Lyon. He will be watching India’s Tests in Australia closely, picking up cues for improvement. During his “six days of learnings” in the India nets, Himanshu watched closely how the big players prepared for the battles. He beat Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the net and came out impressed with how well Dhruv Jurel played him.
“I didn’t get to talk a lot with Ashwin. But the confidence I gained showed here,” he said. “Most of the things are the same at all levels. It’s eventually a mental game. You will only learn with experience.”
Himanshu’s growth spurt didn’t happen until he was in the 10th grade. He had wanted to become a batter until coaches noticed a spark in his bowling. Himanshu moved to Mumbai from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh when he was 10 years old to further his cricket career. He has registered for the upcoming IPL mega auction, but is “not thinking much about it” and wants to focus on Ranji Trophy.
Himanshu says there are white-ball tricks he is working on. The carrom ball too is a work in progress.
For Mumbai, Himanshu has proved to be a like-for-like replacement for their off-spinner Tanush Kotian, who is in Australia on India A duties. Against Odisha, Himanshu was an ideal foil for left-arm spinner Shams Mulani, who took 11 wickets.
“He’s a terrific bowler in my eyes,” Mulani said about Himanshu. “I have spoken to a couple of guys about him. I rank him very highly. He’s got that height, and pace as well. I enjoy bowling with an off-spinner who has control, which he has. Tanush was doing that job for us, and we have got a very good replacement.”
Himanshu and Mulani shared 18 wickets to help Ranji champions Mumbai complete an innings and 103-run win against Odisha on Day 4 to secure the crucial bonus point.