The Haryana quick talks about idolising Glenn McGrath, bowling Travis Head off a no-ball, and learning what it takes to bowl on flat pitches
Shashank Kishore18-Sep-2024Anshul Kamboj wasn’t even born when Haryana won their first (and only) Ranji Trophy crown in 1990-91. And he didn’t know until his debut in 2022 what it took to succeed in first-class cricket. Two years on, Kamboj has built on a superb 2023-24 season, in which he was Haryana’s leading wicket-taker during a victorious Vijay Hazare campaign.Last week, Kamboj, 23, picked up an eight-wicket haul for India C in the 2024-25 Duleep Trophy. On a surface where his side racked up 525, Kamboj, who describes himself as a hit-the-deck bowler, ran through India B after their openers Abhimanyu Easwaran and N Jagadeesan put on 129.Test batter Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan and T20 star Rinku Singh were among those Kamboj dismissed. His 8 for 69 in 27.5 overs are currently the second-best figures by a fast bowler in Duleep Trophy history. Three batters were bowled, and two – the Khan brothers – lbw.Related
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“On a pitch where there wasn’t much help, my job was simple: attack the stumps to bring bowled and lbw into play,” Kamboj tells ESPNcricinfo.”You can’t overcomplicate things. It’s easy as a fast bowler to say, ‘there’s no help in this pitch, what can we do.’ As a fast bowler, your challenge is to always look to create opportunities. That’s what I’m learning to do.”Kamboj loves watching videos of Glenn McGrath. But the time he spent watching him bowl on YouTube has been matched on the field by trying to emulate McGrath’s virtues.”He was known to keep hitting the deck with the perfect seam,” Kamboj says. “That’s what I’ve grown up learning to do. Pace is one aspect, but if you can be accurate and hit the perfect seam, you can make the ball talk.”Kamboj comes from boxing heartland, Karnal in Haryana, and began playing on open fields. It wasn’t until he was 14 that he began to take the game seriously. And in less than a decade, Kamboj hasn’t just progressed to his state team but has also broken into the IPL.”The turning point was in 2019,” he says. “I had just played for India Under-19. That was when I discovered what it takes to be a professional. While I could play just one series [for India Under-19], it was an eye-opener in terms of the areas I needed to improve – the fitness, the skill aspect, conditioning, everything.”
“The two IPL games gave me a lot of learnings on what it takes to play at this level. Nothing prepares you for it. When you’re in the middle, the experience and lessons you learn by playing – you can’t get it anywhere.”Anshul Kamboj
Kamboj has played a lot of his cricket in Lahli, renowned to be a swing bowler’s paradise. But it’s here he learnt two things about fast bowling. “The importance of not getting carried away when everything is going your way, and the need to vary lengths as per the surface,” he says promptly.Earlier this year, Kamboj earned his maiden IPL contract when Mumbai Indians signed him at the auction. Having waited right until the end of the season for his opportunity, Kamboj had a memorable initiation.”I’ve replayed that a fair few times in my head,” he laughs when asked of his IPL debut.After being slapped for six off his second delivery, Kamboj flattened Travis Head’s off stump three balls later, only to find out he had overstepped. Head would dispatch him to the boundary off the next two deliveries.”It was heartbreaking, I felt so bad. Everyone tried to calm me down quickly and told me to forget about it. How could I? You dream of playing in this tournament and when your first wicket is off a no-ball, it’s a terrible feeling.”There was more frustration in store when Head was dropped off his bowling in his second over. But agony turned into ecstasy two balls later, when he clean bowled Mayank Agarwal – “with a hit-the-deck delivery” – for his maiden IPL wicket.”The two IPL games gave me a lot of learnings on what it takes to play at this level. Nothing prepares you for it. When you’re in the middle, the experience and lessons you learn by playing – you can’t get it anywhere.”It’s almost always assumed a young player talks up his India ambitions when asked of the road ahead, but Kamboj is different.”We’ve won the Vijay Hazare, the Ranji Trophy is the next big goal,” he says. “We’ve won the title only once. I want to help us win another Ranji crown. And if I can keep improving from every game, it’ll go a long way in this journey towards contributing to Haryana’s success.”
