Follow UsHarsh Dubey hogged the limelight in the final of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25, when he broke the record for most wickets in a season, held by Ashtosh Aman of Bihar. With his three wickets in the final for Vidarbha, Dubey finished the tournament with 69 scalps to his name, one better than Aman’s 68 achieved in the 2018-19 Ranji season.
With 476 runs in 10 matches to go alongside his 69 wickets, Dubey was rightly named Player of the series. The 22-year-old left-arm spinner went unsold in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. But with his career-defining performance, he might just have a window of opportunity to showcase his skills in the richest cricket league on the planet’s 2025 season.
Here are three teams that might target Dubey as a replacement player, in case of an injury.
Harsha’s name never came up for the auction, but SRH can do good by going for the player now, as they have only the options of Abhishek Sharma and Kamindu Mendis when it comes to left-arm spin. With Mendis unable to find a place in playing 11 given the competition among overseas players, it is natural that they would want to cover the base with an in-form bowler and Dubey will fit the bill seemingly well.
With Allah Ghazanfar of Afghanistan likely to be ruled out of the IPL 2025 due to his injury, which forced him out of Afghanistan’s squad for the Champions Trophy 2025, Mumbai would look to strengthen its spin department. Dubey will therefore come into the picture as another left-arm spin option apart from Mitchell Santner.
Since only one option is never enough and Dubey brings with himself the ability to bat down the order, Mumbai would always be tempted to get him on board as Ghazanfar’s replacement.
Though Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine are clearly the two spin bowling options for KKR in every match, last season they played Suyash Sharma, another spinner, as an impact substitute, a weapon which served well for them.
This year they only have the options of Anukul Roy and Mayank Markande. However, none of the two have been in great form. Thus, Kolkata might go for record-maker Dubey.