Teenage Indian left-arm spinner Saumy Kumar Pandey, one of the leading wicket-takers in the ongoing U19 World Cup in South Africa, possesses a striking similarity to Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling action.
The reason is simple: the veteran India allrounder is Pandey’s inspiration. Hailing from Rewa in Madhya Pradesh, Pandey was fascinated by Jadeja’s body language and intent on the field and tried every single day to emulate his icon.
The cricketer has shown tremendous potential for the future with 17 wickets in six games so far, with a best of 4/19.
”Jadeja has been his inspiration. He has been fascinated by Jadeja’s body language and fielding intent,” Pandey’s childhood coach Aril Anthony told PTI on Tuesday.
According to Anthony, Pandey is also a brilliant student, who passed his higher secondary subjects with flying colours.
So, what made him foray into cricket? ”Initially, when he started playing cricket
So, what made him foray into cricket? ”Initially, when he started playing cricket at age 7 or 8, he was physically very weak. He was advised by doctors to do some physical activity to boost his immunity,” added Anthony.
”His father told me that he had a huge interest in cricket since childhood and was able to hold the bat at the age of three or four.
”He was a sharp kid. Even in academics, he scored around 93 per cent in Higher Secondary. His parents wanted him to be an engineer or a doctor but were left spellbound after seeing him bowl under my guidance (chuckles).