Shivang Kumar debuted for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 2. The 24-year-old had featured in just 7 matches for Madhya Pradesh, and here he was. The Indian Premier League (IPL) had unearthed another talent. Due to the success of the IPL, almost every state now has their own T20 league.
Shivang Kumar, the batter
These tournaments act as the feeder system for IPL scouts. That’s where Shivang was discovered as well. He featured in the Madhya Pradesh League T20 in 2024 and 2025 before making his T20 and List A debut in 2025. A left-arm wrist spinner is the rarest of rare commodities in cricket. But Shivang wasn’t that. In 2024, he played as a top-order batter.
However, his batting wasn’t what made his IPL 2026 season a success. In fact, his batting prowess didn’t arrive at the scene at all for SRH. But the Indian management saw something. 9 wickets in 13 matches and a couple of drops were enough. That’s why Shivang was called upon as the net bowler for the one-off Test between India and Afghanistan in Mullanpur.
What he can do for India
India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir and newly appointed spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule were mighty impressed with Shivang. They realised that India might’ve found a jack-of-all-trades in the 24-year-old. A spinner who’s tough to read and is more than a handy batter. But Shivang isn’t a finished product. Gambhir and Sairaj both know that.
That’s why he’s been instructed to work on both skills. He is a late bloomer. Most cricketers have played multiple domestic seasons by 24, yet Shivang has just 7 matches to his name. He’s yet to make his first-class debut as well.
“To me, Gautam sir said that ‘Shivang, you are a good combination of chinaman bowling and batting. You work hard, you work on your batting, and you are a chinaman bowler, so you have to do more improvement, improve yourself,” Shivang told RevSportz. “And the exact same thing, Sairaj sir also told me that, ‘You should be… you have to do very well in batting because you are a good combination, and India is looking for that combination,’” he added.
Shivang will directly compete with Kuldeep Yadav. But the experienced left-arm wrist-spinner didn’t shy away from helping the youngster.
“Whatever doubts I had in life and even in cricket, I talked to him (Kuldeep) about those. And he explained it to me in a very good way, and shared his own experience of playing cricket for so many years,” the wrist spinner said.
Cricket
IND vs IRE: BCCI 'monitoring' situation in Belfast, change in venue a possibility if violence persists
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi predicted to surpass Virat Kohli & Sachin Tendulkar with BCCI handling asterisk
