Lucknow: On a day when two top cricketers from Uttar Pradesh, Rinku Singh and Kuldeep Yadav, were dropped from India’s T20I squad for the Ireland and England series as well as the September-October Asian Games in Japan, Lucknow leg-spinner and former India U19 World Cupper Zeeshan Ansari made it to the India A side for the multi-day series in Sri Lanka.
Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel will lead the 15-member A team in the two four-day matches, the first of which begins on June 25. Other squad members are: Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ayush Pandey, Aman Mokhade, Shaik Rasheed, N Jagadeesan (wk), Harsh Dubey, Auqib Nabi, Saransh Jain, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Yash Thakur and Anshul Kamboj.
Ansari, who didn’t get a game for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the just-ended IPL, was called up as a net bowler ahead of the one-off Test between India and Afghanistan. “I was expecting this call as Ansari’s domestic performance last season was tremendous,” his coach Gopal Singh said on Saturday.
The leg-break and googly bowler emerged as one of Uttar Pradesh’s potent bowlers in the last domestic season, showing consistency across formats. His breakthrough came in an impressive campaign that saw him dominate the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament.
In eight matches he claimed 21 wickets at an eye-catching average of 16.52, proving his ability to break partnerships and deliver in pressure situations. His ability to vary pace, flight the ball effectively and sneak in the googly at crucial moments made him a constant threat on pitches that increasingly favoured batsmen.
“So far, he has taken 17 wickets in five first-class matches with an economy of 3.65, and I am sure he will be doing well on the turning tracks of the sub-continent as he loves to give air to his deliveries,” said Singh.
Even before the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Ansari had been building a reputation in the shorter format. He was a standout wicket-taker in the inaugural UP T20 League. His performances there earned him a spot with SRH.
The transition to IPL was seamless. In a memorable showing against Delhi Capitals, Ansari took three wickets on IPL debut.
SRH then retained him for the 2026 season. For Ansari, the IPL exposure provided lessons in adaptability, bowling in different phases, reading batsmen quickly and using subtle changes to outfox aggressive batters.
The India A call-up is important in the development curve. Multi-day cricket will test Ansari’s endurance, control and ability to craft dismissals over long spells. Facing Sri Lanka in red-ball conditions offers him an environment to refine his stock ball and variations while learning to exploit the wearing pitch and find session-by-session rhythms.
For UP and SRH supporters, Ansari’s rise is proof in the growing depth of Indian spin talent. If he can translate white-ball wicket-taking instincts into patient, probing longer-format bowling, Ansari can fast-track his journey to higher honours.
