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Page 44 - The Indian EYE 052226
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    STUMP VISION                                                              MAY 22, 2026     |  The Indian Eye 44

                                                                      IPL 2026

                                The Karnal Express:

              Anshul Kamboj’s Rapid Rise

             For CSK, the fast bowler now looks less like a prospect and more like the foundation of their next bowling era. He combines old-
                       school stamina with modern tactical awareness, and that combination is increasingly rare in Indian cricket

                                                                                                       in him a bowler perfectly suited to their cricketing
                                                                                                       philosophy: intelligent, adaptable and emotionally
                                                                                                       composed under pressure.
                                                                                                          His  journey  soon  reached  the  international
                                                                                                       stage when he earned his India Test debut in Man-
                                                                                                       chester against England. The numbers from that
                                                                                                       game  hardly  flattered  him  as  England  piled  on
                                                                                                       runs, but context mattered. Conditions were brutal,
                                                                                                       the attack inexperienced and scrutiny immediate.

                                                                                                       That is when Haryana’s original fast-bowl-
                           ARCHAN MEHTA
                                                                                                       ing hurricane, Kapil Dev, publicly stepped
                  nshul  Kamboj  does  not  fit  the  traditional                                      in to defend the youngster. Kapil’s message
                  mythology  of  Indian  fast  bowling.  He  did
            Anot  emerge  from  elite  academy  systems                                                was simple: no debutant should be judged
            or  under-19  celebrity  circuits.  There  was  no  ear-                                   solely through one difficult outing.
            ly branding, no viral clips, no precocious stardom
            attached to his rise. Instead, his ascent has been                                            More  importantly,  Kamboj  himself  was  not
            forged through repetition, rejection and relentless                                        shaken. Rather than retreat into caution, he car-
            refinement; the sort of journey that often produces                                        ried the experience forward as another lesson in
            cricketers with longer shelf lives than louder begin-                                      resilience; something every elite fast bowler even-
            nings.                                                                                     tually requires.
                Indian cricket has never lacked batting prod-
                                                                                                          IPL 2026 has since become his true arrival. With
            igies  or  mystery  spinners,  but  the  search  for  a                                    injuries  disrupting  CSK’s  overseas  pace  battery,
            dependable Indian fast bowler across formats re-                                           Kamboj has evolved into the side’s all-phase opera-
            mains cricket’s version of a never-ending treasure                                         tor. His 17 wickets in 10 games only tell half the sto-
            hunt. In the middle of IPL 2026, Anshul Kamboj                                             ry. The bigger revelation has been his death bowling.
            has emerged as a rare answer to that problem. For                                          By  using  a  clever  round-the-wicket  angle  and  re-
            Chennai Super Kings, his rise is not merely a break-                                       lentlessly attacking the wide-off-stump channel, he
            out story; it is succession planning in motion. At 6ft                                     has become one of the tournament’s most effective
            2 with a heavy-ball release and awkward bounce,                                            finish-over bowlers. His dismissal of Virat Kohli at
            Kamboj represents the kind of Indian seamer fran-                                          the Chinnaswamy earlier this season further show-
            chises spend years trying to discover; one capable                                         cased his temperament. Young bowlers often shrink
            of surviving the red-ball grind while thriving in the                                      after  a  superstar  survives  an  early  chance;  Kam-
            chaos of T20 cricket.                                                                      boj doubled down on his plan and got his reward.
                What makes his story compelling is how un-  With injuries disrupting CSK’s overseas pace battery, Kamboj
                                                                                                          For CSK, Kamboj now looks less like a pros-
            conventional it is. Hailing from Karnal, Haryana; a   has evolved into the side’s all-phase operator. His 17 wickets   pect  and  more  like  the  foundation  of  their  next
            region better known for wrestlers and boxers; Kam-                                         bowling era. He combines old-school stamina with
            boj entered structured cricket late, only beginning   in 10 games only tell half the story (ANI)   modern tactical awareness, and that combination
            formal training at 14. In fact, the defining moment                                        is increasingly rare in Indian cricket. There is still
            of his early career was rejection. When he missed   vance during the 2024 Ranji Trophy when Kamboj   refinement  ahead,  but  the  essentials  are  already
            out  on  India’s  Under-19  squad  in  2020,  it  could   took  all  10  wickets  against  Kerala  at  Lahli.  The   visible: control, courage and clarity under pressure.
            easily have ended the dream. Instead, it sharpened   figures, 10 for 49 immediately placed him in elite   And perhaps that is the best sign of all. Because in
            it. He rebuilt himself through relentless training,   company, but the spell’s real value was in its en-  a tournament where bowlers disappear faster than
            long practice days and an obsessive focus on seam   durance. He bowled over 30 overs with relentless   free food at a press box, Anshul Kamboj is making
            position, fitness and control. The result was a fast   accuracy, trusting pressure rather than theatrics. It   batters wish rain interruptions lasted forever.
            bowler who understood that pace alone means lit-  transformed him from promising domestic seamer
            tle without discipline.                      into a serious long-term prospect. CSK recognised   Archan Mehta is a writer dedicated to telling compelling
                That  discipline  exploded  into  national  rele-  it instantly during the 2025 mega auction, seeing   stories about athletes, teams, and the world of cricket

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