Navdeep Saini: From playing in Karnal Premier League to becoming India's latest pace entrant, all you need to know

Fast bowler Navdeep Saini grabbed headlines for being the standout performer in India’s nondescript win over West Indies in the first of three T20Is in Florida.

India restricted the Windies for 95 runs on a sluggish surface in the first innings. The Indian batsmen kept losing their way and eventually after losing six wickets, it was Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar who got the Men in Blue over the line in the 18th over with four wickets in hand.

Debutant Saini was awarded the Player of the Match. India lead the three-match series 1-0.

Here is a brief lowdown on Saini’s journey from Karnal Premier League to becoming the latest pace entrant for India:

Early days

Saini was born in Karnal district of northern Indian state of Haryana on 23 November1992. The right-arm pace bowler made his name in the domestic circuit and the Indian Premier League (IPL) before climbing up the ladder to earn the national cap.

In Karnal, Saini actively took part in local tournaments that were played with the tennis ball. He earned Rs 200 for a day. It was in the Karnal Premier League where his talent was first spotted by former Delhi medium-pacer Sumit Narwal. Narwal took him to Delhi where Saini met former India opener Gautam Gambhir.

In 2013, with Narwal’s help and the virtue of luck, Saini got an opportunity to bowl at then Delhi captain Gambhir in the nets, according to an article in ESPNCricinfo

The mentor and messiah in Gambhir

Gambhir was impressed by Saini’s talent and fast-tracked him into the Delhi team, which however, led to a massive controversy between Gambhir and the most prominent Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) members, Bishan Singh Bedi and Chetan Chauhan over the fast bowler’s eligibility for playing for the state team in Ranji Trophy.

After a fallout between the selection panel and Gambhir, and in the backdrop of tension, Saini, eventually, made his domestic debut for Delhi in December 2013 against Vidharbha.

In the shortest format, he made his debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy 2015-16 season.

Saini’s raw pace was evident from his early days and he is known for consistently clocking speeds over 140 kilometres per hour.

Domestic success and the wait for IPL debut

His best performances came in the Ranji Trophy season of 2017-18, when he bagged 34 wickets in just eight matches, emerging as the leading wicket-taker for his side.

While in white-ball cricket, his best showing was during the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, when he 16 wickets from eight matches in the tournament, once again finishing as the top wicket-taker for Delhi.

Gambhir played an instrumental role in Saini’s fledgling career and Saini after winning the semi-final of Ranji Trophy 2017-18 stated in an interview to PTI, “I owe this life and my success to Gautam Gambhir. I was a nobody and Gautam bhaiyaa did everything for me.”

Saini was roped into the Delhi Daredevils squad in 2017 for a base price of 10 lakhs but wasn’t even given a chance. However, in 2018, he was bought for a whopping 3 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), but the pacer had still had to wait for his IPL debut.

It was only in the latest edition of the IPL Saini made his maiden appearance in the lung opener against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In his debut season, Saini picked 11 wickets in 13 games, averaging 36.09 at a strike rate of 26.18, while his economy rate was 8.27.

Saini earned a national call up into India’s Test squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan last year, but didn’t feature in the playing XI.