Ravi Bishnoi is living a dream. Last month, at the IPL 2020 auction, the 19-year-old legbreak bowler was picked up by the Kings XI Punjab franchise for Rs 2 crore against his base price of Rs 20 lakh. Along with the big bucks, he will have a brilliant mentor in former India leg-spinner and Punjab head coach Anil Kumble.
Bishnoi's dream run is on at the ongoing ICC U-19 World Cup in South Africa. He kicked off the campaign with 2/44 in his 10 overs against Sri Lanka, which India won by 90 runs.
But it was in the match today against Japan that he made heads turn, taking four wickets in four balls (split between two overs) without conceding a single run. Japan were bowled out for 41—the joint-second-lowest total in the history of the U-19 World Cup—with Bishnoi scalping four wickets for five runs in eight overs. India won the match in 4.5 overs.
Though Japan were not exactly strong opponents for defending champions India, Bishnoi impressed everyone with his wrong'uns along with his usual legbreaks. The Jodhpur lad came into the limelight in the youth ODIs, where he grabbed 12 wickets in seven matches at an economy rate of 4.37. He also made good use of the limited opportunities he got in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Tournament.
With his ability to turn the ball prodigiously and an excellent googly, Bishnoi, in all likelihood, will be an asset for the U-19 Indian team and Kings XI Punjab.
