With BGT in sight, Harsh Dubey makes red-ball case with nine-wicket haul

Vidarbha’s Harsh Dubey, centre, claimed his career-best figures of 9 for 53 against Madhya Pradesh. | Photo Credit: VCA

Harsh Dubey sealed his ninth wicket of the innings midway through the afternoon when he snuck the first ball of his 23rd over past the defences of Madhya Pradesh’s Ravi Kiran. In doing so, he notched the best figures by a Vidarbha bowler in the Ranji Trophy, an accolade previously held by Arun Ogiral since 1967.

But Dubey would only realise the scale of his achievement several hours later, when he ambled over to have a chat with the media at the close of play.

“It’s a great feeling. I never thought I would take nine wickets, because you really do need a full day for that. You can bowl well, but you need a whole day for nine wickets,” he mused. “Things need to go in your favour.”

The 24-year-old was something of a one-man wrecking ball on Monday, befuddling the visiting MP batters with a classic showing of the guile, flight, and deception that has made him such a standout performer in the domestic circuit in helpful conditions.

READ | Dubey rewrites Vidarbha record books with nine-wicket haul against MP

“There was a little bit of help off the wicket. If you were able to hit the right areas continuously, it was difficult to score,” he explained. “There was a little bit of moisture in the morning so it was skidding and breaking, but later on after Lunch I think it got a bit better. Even then it was still turning from certain spots.”

Among his victims was Madhya Pradesh captain and notorious spin-hitter Rajat Patidar, who was dropped early on off Dubey’s bowling before he had him attempting to punch past cover.

“I didn’t do anything specific, but I knew he wanted pace on the bat from the ball. So my plan was to slow it down and force him to make the shot rather than bowling to his strengths. I was just trying to vary the pace and hit the right areas,” he explained.

But the wicket he identified as his favourite from the haul was that of Shubham Sharma, a long-time competitor, caught at short leg.

“I’ve played with him for a really long time, we have a great bond. I had some idea about where he might get stuck, so I was trying to either beat him on the inside or outside.”

National team experiences

Dubey has come into this domestic season off the back of spending plenty of time around the national team environment post the IPL. He made his ODI debut against Afghanistan in June, and has also been named in the India A squad for the Rising Stars Asia Cup later this month.

While he claimed three wickets on his national team debut, his outing got off to a rough start with his opening two overs costing 26 runs. Dubey admitted that some self-doubt began to creep in at that stage.

“At that time, I did start to wonder whether I actually deserve to be here. But then I just shifted my focus to doing my best in this situation for my country, and what more I can do with this opportunity,” he remembered.

However, he credited his experiences at the Indian Premier League (IPL) in helping him recover from the situation and finding a more positive frame of mind.

“These kinds of self-talks are always important when things are going up and down. It could be that things go wrong again, but how can I motivate myself again and put myself in a positive frame of mind? During the IPL, there was a time where I ended up getting into a little bit of a negative frame of mind when I was sitting outside, so I think that experience really helped me stay positive during my debut.”

Dubey also accompanied the red-ball side on its tour of Sri Lanka as a net bowler. The opportunity afforded him the chance to work with a familiar face in Sairaj Bahutule, and he noted that the improvements he made during the trip came in handy during the Duleep Trophy.

“I’ve been working with Sairaj sir for a long time, even when he was a spin coach with the NCA. He knows me really well, and we have a really good bond because I’ve spent a lot of time with him.

The Kookaburra is something that all spinners struggle with, the seamer is relatively inward compared to the SG and Dukes balls. When we went to Sri Lanka, we worked with the Kookaburra and I actually got the results during the Duleep Trophy. My bowling revs had increased compared to previously,” he noted.

An eye on the BGT?

With a home Border-Gavaskar Trophy around the corner, any strong domestic performances from a spinner are likely to prompt a discussion about potential inclusion. More tantalisingly in Dubey’s case, the first Test will take place at his home ground in Nagpur, and while he is “manifesting” the chance to feature, he prefers to keep his head down and work.

“I know if I think about those kinds of things, I will end up putting extra pressure on myself. I try to focus on what is in my hand instead,” he said.

“If something is written in your life, you will get it. Even if it is early or late, if you’re meant to get it, you will.”