Zeeshan Ansari made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the match against Delhi Capitals at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
The Lucknow-born leg spinner replaced Simarjeet Singh in the playing 12 as SRH skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first. Zeeshan was roped in by the 2016 champion for INR 40 lakhs at the mega auction, which happened in December last year.
The spinner picked up the wicket of Capitals’ opener Faf du Plessis in his second over of the game after thee former South Africa captain’s fifty had helped his side race to 81 for no loss in nine overs
Zeeshan followed it up by completing a caught-and-bowled chance to remove Jake Fraser-McGurk in the final ball of the same over. In his third over, he dismissed the dangerous KL Rahul (15 off 5), who tried to sweep but got knocked over around his legs.
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Part of the Under-19 Indian team alongside Rishabh Pant, Zeeshan has limited experience in the shortest format of the game. The 25-year-old played just a solitary game for Uttar Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. However, he was unable to pick a wicket and conceded 32 runs in his four-over quota. Overall, Zeeshan has 17 wickets under his belt in five First-Class games.
However, Zeeshan impressed with the ball in the Uttar Pradesh T20 League, where he represented Meerut Mavericks. He emerged as the league’s leading wicket-taker and was instrumental in his side’s title run. He ended up with 24 wickets in 12 innings, including a five-for.
