Navdeep Saini. (TOI Photo)

NEW DELHI: It was the first match of the 2019 IPL with Royal Challengers Bangalore taking on Chennai Super Kings. CSK were chasing a meagre 71 to win the match as opener Shane Watson trudged out to bat.

Soon the Australian got hit flush on his helmet by a searing bouncer that was clocked at 151kph. Watson was not only beaten for sheer pace, but he was lying on the ground – stunned at what struck him. The bowler was Delhi fast bowler Navdeep Saini , who actually hails from the streets of Karnal, Haryana.

Over the last six years, Saini has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit; and during the 2019 IPL he impressed one and all with his ability to clock speeds upwards of 150kph. He has also excelled for India ‘A’ in the ongoing oneday series against West Indies ‘A’, picking 5/46 in the second unofficial ODI in Antigua. On Sunday, the 26-year-old was rewarded by the selectors, who picked him in India’s ODI as well as T20 teams for the tour to West Indies.

Saini’s journey to the Indian team has been a rollercoaster one. Till 2013, he didn’t play leather-ball cricket; he wasn’t part of any serious age-group cricket either. Saini used to play tennis-ball cricket in local tournaments in Karnal with his earnings being Rs 200 per match.

Former Delhi medium-pacer Sumit Narwal saw Saini bowl in the Karnal Premier League – a tournament that Narwal used to conduct – and was impressed with his pace. Saini’s next stop was the Delhi nets where he had quite an impact on Gautam Gambhir , who was often beaten for pace. Gambhir would arrange a pair of boots for Saini and ask him to be a regular at the Delhi nets. This was Saini’s intial intrusion into Delhi cricket. Saini had Gambhir’s backing, and the former Delhi captain fought with the state selectors to get the pacer in Delhi’s Ranji Trophy team. Ultimately, Gambhir’s efforts paid off and Saini was selected in the Delhi team in the 2013-14 season.

Since then, Saini hasn’t looked back. He helped Delhi reach the final of the 2017-18 Ranji season where he finished as the team’s leading wicket-taker with 34 in eight games. It was the semifinal against Bengal that saw Saini come up with his best performance. He took 3/55 in the first innings, and then followed with 4/35 in the second to send Bengal crashing for 86, giving Delhi an innings victory. Saini had vindicated the stand taken by Gambhir, who was Delhi’s captain during the 2017-18 campaign.

“Whenever I speak about Gambhir, I get emotional. In fact, after my first few matches with the Delhi team, he said that if I keep working hard at every practice session, I will play for India. He saw it in me before I realised myself. When I look back, I smile,” Saini said, when he had received his maiden call-up to the Indian senior team for the one-off Test match against Afghanistan in June, 2018.

