'Good things await this wonderful talent' - Ravichandran Ashwin is all praise for Vidarbha spinner Harsh Dubey

Harsh Dubey has had a terrific Ranji Trophy 2024-25 with Vidarbha. In the 14 innings he has bowled so far, the left-arm spinner has scalped 55 wickets at a remarkable average of 14.50. Such has been the dominance of the 22-year-old that the next-highest wicket-taker is 17 wickets afar, although having bowled in an innings less than Dubey.

Former Indian cricketer, Ravichandran Ashwin, recently took to X to extend his sentiments on the emerging talent from Vidarbha.

Dubey recounts unanticipated chat with former Vidarbha teammate involving Ashwin

The blossoming cricketer revealed an interesting flow of events through which he got the opportunity of playing in the Chennai league. There were no trials or anything of that sort required; instead there was a phone call with Rajneesh Gurbani which went Dubey's way. Dubey narrated that it was also due to Ashwin finding his bowling promising that brought about the wonderful opportunity for him.

"I was playing the semi-final of the CK Nayudu Trophy [Under-23 tournament] against Madhya Pradesh in Vadodara because I'd been dropped from the Ranji squad. I'd just taken seven wickets and scored 60 not-out with the bat. I'd just returned to my room when my friend Rajneesh Gurbani [the former Vidarbha fast bowler, who now plays for Maharashtra] called.The IPL was going on and he was a net bowler for Rajasthan Royals. He was playing chess when Ash bhai happened to ask Gurbani if he knew of a left-arm spinner from our state. And Gurbani told him about me and one other player. Ashwin then googled my name and found a couple of YouTube videos of me bowling and asked Gurbani if I'm interested to play in the Chennai league," shared Dubey, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"Gurbani immediately called me. I still remember, I was on the way back to the hotel and was exhausted. He's like 'bhai, will you play in the Chennai league?' I told him, I'm too tired now, I am not thinking about playing immediately. And then it suddenly struck me what I'd just said. I quickly rang up Sarwate [Dubey's Vidarbha teammate at the time] who was playing in Chennai and asked him about it, and he was like if you're getting a chance there, hands down go for it. Then, I called Gurbani and informed him. That's how it all started," added Dubey.

Also Read: Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Mumbai-Haryana quarter final match shifted to Eden Gardens, Kolkata

With six victories after seven games, Vidarbha topped Group B of the current installment of the domestic red-ball competition. They are currently involved in their quarter-final encounter against Tamil Nadu in Nagpur.