25-year-old pacer Anshul Kamboj has come quite far from a very disappointing Test debut for India last year in England. He played one Test in Manchester after injuries in the Indian camp and returned 1/89 in a high-scoring contest that ended in a draw. He looked heavy and could barely control his deliveries.
However, in less than a year, he appears to have improved immensely. He looks fitter and is bowling extraordinarily for Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
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In nine matches so far, Kamboj, only third bowler in Ranji trophy to take all 10 wickets in an innings, has taken 17 wickets and is currently tied with Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Royal Challengers Bengaluru as the highest wicket-takers. He is only behind Bhuvi in the Purple Cap race on economy rate. His is 8.49, while Bhuvi’s is 7.54.
On Saturday night, in an important match against Mumbai Indians at the Chidambaram Stadium, Kamboj picked up three wickets and set the tone for an easy win for CSK. Will Jacks, Hardik Pandya and Robin Minz were his victims.
To sum it up, he has ticked all the boxes this season and looks terrific. Former India batsman Ambati Rayudu is impressed in a big way. As far as he is concerned, at present, Kamboj looks like a complete bowler in T20s. “I think his capability of bowling in the powerplay, in the middle, as well as in the death, when you can do these three, I think you are among the top-five bowlers who have ever played IPL, because most of them can’t do all three,” Rayudu said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut.
“We can name people on our fingers who can do these three things and do them brilliantly. His death bowling has improved quite a bit, and especially that angle from around the stumps and his nailing of those yorkers, it’s quite impressive. It’s not an easy thing to do,” he added.
Bowling around the wicket, Kamboj has found a plan!
Former Mumbai Indians pacer and winner of four IPL trophies, Mitchell McClenaghan weighed in with his thoughts on Kamboj. “You can put that down to the old CSK blueprint, when you had Bravo, and obviously Eric Simons [bowling coach] is still there. They really like guys to come around the wicket.
“The point I’m trying to make is that, probably, previous to coming to CSK, I don’t think he had a real plan or idea of what he wanted to do at the death. And so I think he’s found something,” the big New Zealander said.