IPL 2025: Who is Zeeshan Ansari? Everything you need to know about SRH leg-spinner

Zeeshan Ansari impressed on his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut in the one-sided clash between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, March 30.

While Sunrisers suffered a seven-wicket defeat, Ansari stood out with the ball, taking three wickets to give his team a glimmer of hope in the second innings. After opting to bat first, SRH could only manage 163 in 18.4 overs. Aniket Verma played a stellar knock of 74 off 41 balls, but the rest of the SRH batters could not make the most of conditions which were good for batting. Mitchell Starc stood out for Delhi as he finished with figures of 5/35 in 3.4 overs, an effort which helped him take the Purple Cap.

Delhi Capitals got off to a splendid start as Faf du Plessis smashed a blistering half-century. His fellow opener, Jake Fraser-McGurk, got a couple of reprieves in a partnership of 81 runs. Ansari finally gave SRH their first breakthrough in the 10th over as he got rid of du Plessis, who miscued a slog towards mid-wicket. Wiaan Mulder took a stunning catch to complete the dismissal.

Fraser-McGurk hit two fours and a six in the same over before being dismissed off the last ball. He chipped a length ball around middle-stump straight back to the bowler, who did not make any mistake in grabbing the catch. In his next over, Ansari fired a delivery down the leg-side and cleaned up KL Rahul, who went for a sweep and missed it altogether.

Ansari finished his spell of four overs, conceding 42 runs and picking up three big wickets. While Delhi romped home with four overs to spare, the 25-year-old garnered praise from the fans as well as experts for his impressive performance on debut.

Who is Zeeshan Ansari?

Ansari is a leg-spinner from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. He grabbed the attention of the IPL franchises with his stellar performance in the second edition of the UP T20 league. Ansari finished with the most wickets in the competition, bagging 24 scalps for the Meerut Mavericks. He played a major role in his team's title-winning campaign.

Notably, Ansari was a member of India's U-19 World Cup squad in 2016. He was teammates with the likes of Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, and Ishan Kishan. Ansari debuted in first-class cricket for Uttar Pradesh in 2017, and he played his last match for the state side in 2020. He has taken 17 wickets in just five first-class games for Uttar Pradesh. In the IPL 2025 mega-auction, he was roped in by SRH for INR 40 lakhs.

Ansari would want to build on his commendable start in the IPL and build on it in the matches to come. Sunrisers will return to action on Thursday, April 3, when they face defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens in a repeat of last year's final.