Follow UsFormer India spinner Anil Kumble was mighty impressed by the new entrant in the milieu of left-arm spinners in the Indian Premier League (IPL) - Harsh Dubey. The left-arm spinner ended with figures of 3/34 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in only his third game in the league.
More than the number of wickets, it was the quality of balls which got the wickets that impressed the former India captain. Praising Dubey for his style of bowling, Kumble said, “He's giving it a tweak, that's the start. And when you do that, you certainly get a bit of a drift. And, more importantly, it goes off the surface that much quicker. And that's something that we see in Harsh Dubey."
Describing the difference between giving air to the bowl and giving it a rip, Kumble said, "It's not just about tossing the ball up. People think that when you're looking to spin the ball... he gives it a proper tweak. And even when you're pushing it - you're looking to bowl faster - you still need to give it a bit of a rip.”
Dissecting how the ball to Andre Russell was an unplayable one by Dubey, Kumble said, "Today, when he got Ramandeep [Singh] out, and also Andre Russell, he beat them with pace, not just the turn or with... with Russell, it just came back with the arm. He beat them with pace, and that's what you want from a spinner."
Earlier, SRH head coach Daniel Vettori had also praised Dubey, saying that he could be one of the big assets as an all-rounder for the team next season.
Dubey, who finished as the highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy season and broke the record for most wickets in a season by any bowler with 69 scalps in the 2024-25 season, was roped in as a replacement for Smaran Ravichandran in SRH after the latter got injured mid-season.