Ravi Bishnoi

It is one thing for cricketers to take matters into their own hands by toiling and dedicating themselves to their craft — that factor is non-negotiable. For Ravi Bishnoi and some friends, growing up close to Jodhpur in Rajasthan, this was taken a step further.

Bishnoi didn’t have a simple or straightforward route in his youth career in Rajasthan, battling against his fair share of rejection and setbacks in the state's age-group systems. It is a credit to Bishnoi’s dedication and toil that he has carved a marvellous career for himself, fighting upwards from those struggles.

Bishnoi and his friends, with the help of their coaches Pradyot Singh Rathore and Shahrukh Pathan, established a cricket academy in Rajasthan from scratch. They cleared rubble from the ground, imported the soil required for a good facility, planted the grass, and leveled the field to make it suitable for practice. These are the lengths to which Bishnoi went, a teenager at the time, to ensure that his cricket dream would survive and thrive.

The Spartans Cricket Academy on the outskirts of Jodhpur now stands as a testament to Bishnoi’s effort and a constant reminder of where Bishnoi had to work from to achieve his dreams. Bishnoi’s development as a leg-spinner with guile and deception in his arsenal skyrocketed from there. He earned his senior debut for Rajasthan in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2018, before being chosen for the 2020 U-19 World Cup.

2020 was a defining year for Bishnoi, as his rise as one of India’s finest young wrist-spinners coincided perfectly with a year in which the stocks of the incumbent leg-spinners, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, had begun to decline. Bishnoi made the most of his opportunities when the eyes were on him: he finished the U-19 World Cup as the top wicket-taker with 17 scalps across 6 matches.

He would make his IPL debut later in the year for Punjab Kings, who he had joined the previous year as a net bowler. Bishnoi’s impact in the T20 format was immediate: he dismissed Rishabh Pant in his first-ever match and finished the season with 12 wickets. Bishnoi’s quality came from his possession of a deceptive googly and his range of variations, and his performances won him the Emerging Player award at IPL 2020.

Bishnoi took 12 wickets the following IPL as well, in fewer matches at a better economy and strike rate. A wrist-spinner who bowls more googlies than stock deliveries, he provided a unique weapon for the Indian team. He earned his debut in early 2022 against the West Indies and has featured 32 times for India in T20Is, taking 48 wickets at an impressive average of 18.95.

Bishnoi was drafted by the new franchise Lucknow Super Giants in 2022 and has continued to deliver for them. He has become one of the more consistent spinners in the IPL, playing 5 seasons and taking 63 wickets. He continues to be India’s third-choice wrist-spin option behind Kuldeep and Chahal, but at only 23 years of age, he will try to continue to develop and establish himself higher and higher up that pecking order in time.

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