“When I started I was a left-hand batter” - Team India pacer’s stunning revelation after IPL 2025

Team India pacer Tushar Deshpande made a revelation about how he began his cricket journey after the IPL 2025 season. He appeared on veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane's YouTube channel.

Tushar revealed that he began his journey as a left-handed batter. The right-arm pacer stated that his coach and father wanted him to bowl and groom him as an all-rounder. He recalled a memory from an Under-12 selection trial, where he bowled just because there were too many players in the line for batting. It was from that he began his journey as a pacer.

"When I started I was a left-hand batter. But after a few years, there was an Under-12 boys selection. There were about 70 people in the line standing for batting. And now that we had come this far, how could we go home without trying anything. My father told me you do batting, we will see bowling later. But I spoke to my friends and we decided to stay for trials. There were hardly 15-20 people in the line for bowling. I bowled one or two balls and they told me to stand in the side. And from there my journey started as a bowler," he said.

The Indian quick also revealed that Australian legend Brett Lee was his role model growing up. He added that his father asked him to be like the legendary West Indian fast-bowling quartet that included the likes of Malcolm Marshall. Tushar also stated that he copied the batting style of Australia's legendary opening pair.

"I have seen a lot of Brett Lee's bowling since childhood. My father used to tell me you should be like the West Indies quartet if you want to be a fast bowler. Malcom Marshal and all those four dangerous bowlers. The only thing was to bowl fast. I also copied Gilchrist and Hayden a lot in batting. My batting style comes a bit from there."

The 30-year-old has played only two T20Is for India so far. He made his debut against Zimbabwe in 2024 and played another game in the same series. Tushar has two wickets at an average of 27.50 and an economy of 9.16.

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Team India pacer on gaining recognition by playing Ranji Trophy

Tushar Deshpnade had been playing age-group cricket for Mumbai for a long time. However, the Indian pacer revealed how he believed that only playing the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai would gain him recognition.

He recalled looking at senior Mumbai players and the logo that inspired him to play in India's premier domestic tournament.

"When I was selected at the Shivaji Park Gymkhana, all the current Mumbai Ranji Trophy players would come to practice. When I used to look at the Mumbai logo, I felt it had a different class. Then I started thinking I should also achieve this. I felt people would only recognize me when I played the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai. Then I could say I have achieved something," he said.

Tushar went on to make his Ranji Trophy debut during the 2016 season against Tamil Nadu. He bagged four wickets in the first innings as Mumbai won the game by two wickets eventually.

The left-arm quick has played 39 first-class games so far. He has picked up 104 wickets at an average of 29.67. He has also scored 562 runs, including a century and a half-century.

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Edited by Rishab Vm