Ravi Bishnoi’s meteoric rise in Indian cricket came when he became the leading wicket-taker for India in the Under-19 Word Cup in South Africa. Bishnoi’s 17 wickets in six games at a staggering average of 10.64 and an economy rate of 3.48 heralded him as a new star. He was picked in the Kings XI Punjab franchise, where he was going to be mentored by Anil Kumble, the greatest legspinner from India and arguably the country’s greatest cricket match-winner ever.
Bishnoi did well on debut, picking up 1/22 against Delhi Capitals but it was in the Royal Challengers Bangalore match in Dubai on Thursday that showed his class. Bishnoi bowled aggressively and got the wickets of Aaron Finch, Washington Sundar and Umesh Yadav. His legspinning counterpart, Murugan Ashwin, also took three wickets including the big one of AB de Villiers.
Bishnoi acknowledged in the post-match press conference that the presence of Kumble in the dressing room made a lot of difference, particularly in the calmness factor. “Anil sir taught me to back my skills and strength with a cool and calm mind. We prepared well in our camp before the tournament here. We were focusing on mental strength and not bowling lose balls,” Bishnoi said.
High praise from KL Rahul
KL Rahul notched up the highest individual score by an Indian player in the history of the IPL when he smashed 132. However, in the post match presentation, Rahul had high praise for Bishnoi’s efforts. The Kings XI Punjab skipper remarked that even after a poor start in his first over, he had the courage to come back.
“Something that has impressed me in him (Bishoni's heart of coming back even after an expensive start). I watched the U-19 World Cup. He has a lot of fight in him. Every time I throw the ball he wants to do well, he was a little nervous bowling at guys like Finchy and AB, once he got through that he did well,” Rahul said.
Bishnoi hailed Rahul’s knock, calling it a ‘class knock’. “He is a player with a strong batting technicality. Everybody wants to see his shots again and again,” Bishnoi added.
