"Best left-arm spinner" takes a big step

NEW DELHI, January 3: "Sanghvi is the best left-arm spinner in the country at the moment. He uses his head... he is a quick learner. He...

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NEW DELHI, January 3: "Sanghvi is the best left-arm spinner in the country at the moment. He uses his head… he is a quick learner. He should be brought into the national team," said Madan Lal last week.

Madan’s words came true, within a week of talking about the talented Rahul Sanghvi — the first Delhi cricketer in the Indian team since the exit of Manoj Prabhakar after the Wills World Cup fiasco against Sri Lanka at the Kotla.

The 23-year-old employee of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has been in terrific form with the ball this Ranji Trophy season with 8-15 against Himachal Pradesh as the high point.

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Although he made his Ranji debut for the Railways in 1994-95 (11 wickets in four league matches), it was only when he shifted to Delhi next year that he blossomed as a spinner.He came under the influence of Bishan Singh Bedi, who bowled with him for hours at the National Stadium nets here. "It was Bedi paaji who helped me prepare for a match mentally," recalls Sanghvi, who had taken to the game after watching his Sardar Patel Vidyalaya school-mate Ajay Jadeja at the school nets.

Sanghvi learnt the art of spin bowling slowly by watching some of the great players in action, including Bedi and Maninder Singh. "My initial bowling action was influenced by Manni (Maninder) bhai," he says.As a junior, Sanghvi had impressed the selectors so much that he was an automatic choice for the under-19 team’s tour of South Africa in 1992-93. A hat-trick against Zimbabwe earned him applause from those who watched his performance on the tour.Last year, he was part of the India A team (under Ajay Sharma) that participated in the SAARC tournament. "That tournament gave me a lot of confidence because the opposition included a lot of current Test players," he says.

"Forcing the batsmen to make mistakes should be the prime aim of a bowler. I am happy that Rahul has not fallen prey to one-day cricket where the modern-day bowlers are happy only in restricting the flow of runs instead of dismissing the batsmen," Bedi says of his pupil.