XtraTime Web Desk: Back in October 2012, a 20 year old boy from Karnal arrived in the country’s capital with a dream to make a career in cricket. Eight years down the line Navdeep Singh Saini is raising high hopes in Indian cricket with his fast bowling. Navdeep, who was once stopped from entering Feroz Shah Kotla, is now rubbing shoulders with the likes of Virat Kohli, Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian dressing room.
Son of driver, Navdeep was born in Karnal in Haryana in 1992. His grandfather was part of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army during the freedom fight. Navdeep started playing cricket from a young age. He had to be content earning Rs 200 per match in tennis ball tournaments until Delhi Ranji cricketer Sumit Narwal spotted him bowling in a local tournament. He convinced Navdeep’s parents to come to Delhi and try his luck. It was Narwal who arranged for Saini to bowl in the Delhi nets at the Roshanara cricket ground on a pleasant December morning in 2013. The fast bowler immediately caught the eyes of everyone including Delhi and India opener Gautam Gambhir. In fact Saini with his sheer pace troubled the left hander in the nets. That was the first time Navdeep got an opportunity to bowl with the red cherry. Saina had no idea what he should be doing with the leather ball but it was Gambhir who came to his rescue.
Saini in an interview admitted, “Jaise tennis ball se dalta hai, waise hi dal. Koi tension nahi. Baaki sab theek ho jayega (Just bowl like you bowl with a tennis ball. Everything will fall in place). I did what he told me and today I am here because of him.”
Saini faced strong resistance from Delhi District and Cricket Association (DDCA) officials, labeling him as an outsider from Haryana. But Gambhir once again fought for his inclusion in Ranji Trophy team for Delhi.
Since making his Ranji debut against Vidarbha in 2013 Saini has grown in stature. His effort with the ball during the 2017-18 seasons helped Delhi make it to the final. He was the leading wicket taker with 34 wickets in 8 games. His standout performance was against Bengal in the semifinal when he took 7 wickets. He was also the leading wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy the same year.
Saini’s impressive performances landed him an IPL contract with Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) for Rs 10 lakhs in 2017. He did not get much opportunity to bowl. The following year he was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for a whopping Rs 3 crore.
The 27 year old Saini made his T20I debut for India against West Indies at Fort Lauderhill on August 03, 2019. Later in the same year he made his ODI debut too against the same opponents at Cuttack on December 22, 2019. In his brief international career Navdeep has claimed 10 wickets in 10 T20Is and 5 ODI wickets in similar number of matches.
It has truly been a fast paced ride to stardom for Navdeep Saini.