Five Things You Need To Know About Navdeep Saini

The young pacer from streets of Karnal in Haryana, Navdeep Saini made history when he got his maiden national call-up for the limited-overs series against West Indies starting from August 3. Saini grabbed eyeballs when he stunned former Australian Shane Warne by a nasty bouncer in the IPL opener earlier this year.

Saini picked for the West Indies tour

Meanwhile, Navdeep Saini has been in the reckoning for good five-six years now. However, till 2013, Saini has not played any leather ball cricket and was a regular tennis ball player. But he got the break when Delhi cricketer Sumit Narwal’s saw him bowl in a local tournament. Narwal brought Saini to the Delhi nets who soon impressed Gautam Gambhir beating him for pace in the nets and since then, never had to look back.

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He helped Delhi reach the final of the 2017-18 Ranji season where he finished as the team’s leading wicket-taker with 34 in eight games. It was the semifinal against Bengal that saw Saini come up with his best performance. Navdeep Saini took 3 for 55 in the first innings, and then followed with 4 for 35 in the second essay to hand Delhi an innings victory. But Saini gained momentum in this year’s IPL where he bowled with a consistent pace and took batsmen by surprise.

Navdeep Saini also excelled for India ‘A’ in the ongoing one-day series against West Indies ‘A’, picking 5/46 in the second unofficial ODI. The selectors gave rewarded him with a maiden national call-up for the white-ball series for his sheer hard work. The young pacer will look to make the most of the opportunity and impress to selectors with his abilities.

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Here are five things you need to know about Navdeep Saini:

1. Navdeep Saini used to play tennis-ball cricket in local tournaments in Karnal with his earnings being Rs 200 per match.
2. The 26-year-old fast bowler has not played any age-group cricket and made his debut for the Delhi Ranji Team.
3. Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has been the backbone for Navdeep Saini’s success. Gambhir fought with the selectors to include him in the state team during the 2013-14 season.
4. Delhi Capitals (formerly known as Delhi Daredevil) bagged Navdeep Saini’s services during the 2017 season of the Indian Premier League. However, the fast bowler didn’t get any match and came to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the next edition.
5. Former England pacer Dominic Cork was impressed with the young pacer who called him the future of Indian cricket.

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