Six-feet-nine inches giant Nishanth Saranu from Hyderabad impresses Pakistan camp during net session

Nishanth Saranu, a lanky U-19 pacer from Hyderabad, grabbed a lot of attention in Pakistan's opening net session ahead of their first ODI Cricket World Cup warm-up match. Pakistan will take on New Zealand and Australia in the warm-up games on September 29 and October 3, respectively, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, in Hyderabad. Meanwhile, Babar Azam and Co. will begin their World Cup campaign on October 6, against the Netherlands at the same venue. 

Nishanth, who is playing in his second year of U-19 cricket, was one of the several net bowlers available for the Pakistan team. He was chosen by the Pakistan support staff, which included the bowling coach, Morne Morkel, from a group of other net bowlers after Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi finished their spells. Pakistani bowlers like Rauf and Shaheen are accustomed to bowling in the range of 140-150 kmph, and the young Hyderabad pacer was asked to significantly increase his pace.

Nishant, who is six feet nine inches tall, bowled to tail-enders with the exception of opener, Fakhar Zaman, in their first training session ahead of the much-awaited ODI World Cup 2023. The Pakistan batter believed the teenager could succeed if he increased his pace to go along with the extra bounce he generates because of his towering body.

"I currently can bowl up to 125-130 kmph. Morne (Morkel) sir asked me to increase my pace. He also inquired if I would be available to bowl at the nets of IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants,'' Nishanth was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

Nishanth idolises Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins and wishes to play for Hyderabad soon

Interestingly enough, the former South African pacer who is himself quite tall seemed impressed with the youngster. Post the net session, the bowling coach of Pakistan seemed interested in inviting Nishanth for a possible future opportunity to work with him in the IPL. When it comes to idolizing fast bowlers, Nishanth further revealed that he idolises the Australian pace duo of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.

Besides, speaking of the immediate aspirations of the tall bowler, the Hyderabad youngster wants to play first-class cricket for Hyderabad to start with before thinking of the long-term goal of representing the country in the international arena.

"My aim is to have a career in both white and red ball cricket. So, the immediate goal is to represent Hyderabad at the first-class level," he added.

It is worth mentioning that Nishanth has bowled to batters from other countries such as the New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips, during their net sessions. The teenager is expected to get several chances to bowl since Pakistan will be in the city for almost two weeks.