Follow UsRailways’ Himanshu Sangwan spoiled Virat Kohli’s return to Ranji Trophy after 13 years by uprooting his off-stump at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on January 31 (Friday). The star Indian batter could only manage 6 off 15 deliveries before falling to the 29-year-old seamer. Sangwan dismissed Kohli with a superb inswinger and silenced everyone present on the ground.
Just like Kohli, Sangwan was also born in Delhi and even played Under-19 cricket alongside India’s wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant in the 2014-15 season. The right-armer didn’t get many opportunities in Delhi and shifted his base to Haryana, but once again failed to get any breakthrough.
Sangwan, who grew up in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district, spent two years in the wilderness. He found ample support from his father Surendra Singh Sangwan, who is a bank manager, and mother Bhagwan Rati, who is a teacher.
Sangwan’s luck finally turned around when he got to know about job openings at the Indian Railways and six months later, he started working as a ticket examiner at the New Delhi station.
In 2018, Sangwan made his Under-23 debut for Railways and impressed everyone in the CK Nayudu Trophy. The right-arm seamer managed to break into the senior side in 2019 and made his Ranji Trophy debut against Uttar Pradesh, where he dismissed Rinku Singh and finished with four wickets in his first innings.
Sangwan has also trained under Australia’s great seamer Glenn McGrath at the MRF Pace Foundation.
Before this game against Delhi, Sangwan had 77 wickets in 23 first-class encounters at an average of 19.92, including six four-wicket hauls and three five-fers. In the ongoing season, Sangwan has claimed 16 wickets @ 26.68.
Sangwan has also featured in 17 List A and seven T20 games, picking up 26 wickets across two formats.