Ever since the retirement of Anil Kumble, India have struggled to find a quality leg-spinner. The likes of Amit Mishra, Rahul Sharma, and Rahul Chahar tried to do their best to make their place in the team. The emergence of Yuzvendra Chahal though changed the scene as the lanky spinner from Haryana became an integral part of the team.
In the last few years, Chahal has struggled to nail down his place in the Indian team. This paved the way for the emergence of young Ravi Bishnoi. The young spinner first caught the attention of the fans during the 2020 Under-19 World Cup. Ravi Bishnoi was the best bowler for India during their journey to the finals.
This was followed by Ravi Bishnoi getting a contract in IPL with Punjab Kings. After India’s loss during the 2022 T20 World Cup, Ravi Bishnoi was given his Indian cap during the home series against West Indies.
Ravi Bishnoi: The Next Big Thing in Indian Cricket
Young Ravi Bishnoi made his international debut versus West Indies during the 2022 series. In his very first game, Bishnoi bowled four overs, gave away just 17 runs, and picked 2 wickets. His first wicket was Roston Chase who was out LBW and this was followed by Rovman Powell for 2 caught by Venkatesh Iyer.
Since the last two years, Bishnoi has made himself a huge part of the Indian team. His bad form in IPL 2024 meant that he missed a place in the squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup. This loss for Bishnoi made sure that Chahal was given a spot in the Indian team although the veteran didn’t get to play a game.
Bishnoi has played just a solitary ODI game against South Africa and picked 1/69. Till now the youngster has played 32 T20I matches and picked 48 wickets with a best of 4/13 and an economy rate of 7.29 runs per over.
In the IPL, Ravi Bishnoi has played 68 matches and 63 wickets with a best of 3/24 and an economy of 7.8 runs per over. With age on his side, Bishnoi will hope to make it to the Test team as well. If Ravi Bishnoi can play a few more first-class matches he could very well become a regular fixture across all formats and become the long-awaited replacement for Anil Kumble.
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