Lucknow: Leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari was disappointed after he was left out of Uttar Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy squads this season despite doing well in consecutive seasons of the UPT20 League and in his maiden season with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL this summer.
During both the premier domestic events, Lucknow’s Ansari was drafted in only as net bowler. But things changed for the better after the Praveen Kumar-led selection panel named Rinku Singh as skipper in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Rinku showed faith in Ansari, and the 26-year-old lived up to expectations with 11 wickets in the first three matches so far.
Rinku knew Ansari’s potential as he had led him in the UPT20 League where the latter emerged as the most successful bowler with 24 wickets and also helped the Meerut Mavericks lift the glittering trophy in 2024.
Son of a ladies’ tailor, a former India U19 World Cupper, Ansari had played alongside the likes of Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan. But Ansari fell behind in the race to the big league. “I am thankful to Rinku and others who showed faith in me and I needed this boost before the next IPL season,” said Ansari.
“Despite missing out on the Ranji Trophy and SMAT, I did not lose hope and was waiting for my chance. When Rinku asked me to bowl in my debut match in List A against Hyderabad last week, I wanted to grab the opportunity,” said Ansari, who bagged 3/31 to help Uttar Pradesh notch up an 84-run win before taking 4/29 in the second match against Chandigarh. On Monday too, Ansari excelled with his googlies, bagging 3/53 to help UP achieve a convincing 55-run win over Baroda in Rajkot.
“I am always hungry for opportunities and when I was picked by the Sunrisers Hyderabad last season to play in the IPL for the first time, I was determined to make a mark for myself and it was a decent start with six wickets in 10 matches,” said Ansari.
Ansari’s childhood coach Gopal Singh who is associated with the LDA Cricket Academy praised the spinner’s courage to fight against odds. “Ansari’s patience and courage to fight against odds are something great. Despite facing financial struggles from an early age, Ansari kept working hard and that’s the reason why he shone for Uttar Pradesh even with very little opportunities,” said Singh.
“Ansari never let his poverty dampen his spirit. He used his earnings from the 2016 U19 World Cup for repairing his house. Before making it to the Indian squad for the U19 World Cup, he took 40 wickets in Cooch Behar Trophy in 2014-15, 30 in CK Nayudu 2016-17, and 18 in Col CK Nayudu at 13.44 average with three five-fors.”
Ansari made his Ranji Trophy debut under Suresh Raina’s captaincy in 2017 and took three wickets against Railways, but thereafter he was given just four more first-class games (17 wickets total) and one Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 till 2019. His last first-class game was in Ranji Trophy against Tamil Nadu in 2020.
