Digvesh Rathi spins the wins for Lucknow Super Giants

LUCKNOW: Twenty 20 leagues across the country seem to have become the best hunting ground for young talent, and many players have upgraded their skills to play a winning hand for their Indian Premier League sides.

For instance, batter Sameer Rizvi was bought by Chennai Super Kings for a hefty ₹8.4 crore at the auction in November after his exceptional batting performance in the maiden edition of the UP T20 League in 2023. This was the case with young spin bowling all-rounders Vipraj Nigam and Zeeshan Ansari too, the two having made their presence felt with some fine performances for Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively this season.

Many more performers from the regional leagues may make their mark this season going forward. One new face in this talent pool from the regional T20 leagues is mystery spinner Digvesh Rathi. He was first spotted at the Delhi Premier League while playing for South Delhi Superstarz after he took 14 wickets in 10 matches, finishing as the second highest wicket-taker among spinners.

Rathi, who was bought by LSG for ₹30 lakh in the mega auction late last year, is the Lucknow Super Giants’ new spin hero, whose bowling figures of 4-0-21-1 (econ 5.25) in a thrilling 12-run win over the five-time champions Mumbai Indians here on Friday night has made him the darling of the side. None of the others LSG bowlers had an economy rate of under 10.00, which puts Rathi’s performance in perspective.

What it also has put in perspective is his behaviour. Fined for showing the batter the way to the dug out after dismissing him in the loss to Punjab Kings, he repeated that gesture – pretending to write the name in his notebook – against Mumbai Indians as well after he bowled Naman Dhir. This time BCCI has fined him 50% of his match fee. It was surprising that Rathi did not restrain himself the second time, and it is something fans will watch when LSG take on KKR on Tuesday.

Rathi, named Player-of-the-Match against MI, said: “I fell in love with bowling after watching Sunil Narine bowl. My bowling style is such that I prefer attacking the batters and getting them out. I want to be even more attacking, just like Narine. The way he stays calm in pressure situations, I want to do the same.”

LSG’s Australian coach Justin Langer termed Rathi an obsessive bowler. “If he could bowl for 16 hours a day, he would. He probably bowls in the corridor of the hotel. He bowls at breakfast, in the shower, he bowls everywhere,” said Langer.

“All the great cricketers loved practicing and he is being rewarded for years and years of practice. Now he’s in the big league and that practice is starting to pay off. He’s got an unbelievable work ethic when it comes to bowling. The day before the last two games, we just got together out the back into the B ground, and he bowls into my baseball mitt. And he’s always working on something different.”

Rathi was excellent against MI, conceding just two runs in his third over, pushing Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Verma on to the backfoot after snapping up Naman Dhir as he was going great guns at 46 in 24 balls (4x4, 3x6). His control over length was phenomenal.

“He will keep learning. He is very young to the game, but he does all the great spinners do, he loves bowling. and he is being rewarded for years and years of practice. Now he is in the big league, and that practice is starting to pay off.”

Fans are looking forward to LSG’s next match against the defending champions, and Langer is excited to see how Rathi bowls his mystery spin on yet another slow surface at the Eden Gardens. “It’s going to be very interesting. I can’t wait to watch this because Kolkata has two spinners Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, and he idolises both. Watch how he runs into bowl, who does he look like? Sunil Narine, right?”

“He always has something different. He thinks a lot about the game, about how he is going to get the opposition out, and I think that’s why he has got a bright future,” said Langer.

LSG allrounder Shardul Thakur lauded Rathi and said the game needed such characters. “He is a phenomenal bowler and also a bit of a character as well. That’s what we need in the game. We need characters who will come and deliver for the team, who are not afraid of expressing themselves. I feel he always expresses himself and that’s his biggest strength.”