In the Haryana dressing room, Anshul Kamboj goes by the nickname ‘AK 47’. During the Ranji season, his teammates would often chant ‘AK47’ as he ran in to bowl and there is a small story behind that.
“When they asked for a number, everyone was picking their birth date or a lucky number. But I was looking for something unique that will match by name. So I picked 47 because it is also rhyming well…now everyone calls me that,” the seamer had once told . In 2024, he picked all ten wickets in an innings against Kerala, and has been growing from strength to strength since. This year he has starred for and has earned praise from Dhoni and Fleming.
Kamboj has been named in the India A squad on the tour of England, and if he performs well there, there is a chance he can sneak into the main national squad as well.
“He’ll do well on that tour (of England) if he gets conditions that seam a bit and a little bit of swing,” Fleming said at the end of the game against . “He’ll be an absolute handful. He has got some real potential with both white and red ball. We’re happy with his development and the opportunity he has taken this year.”
There were some concerns about the drop in his pace early on in this season but Fleming believes he is in good space right now. “His speeds have been around 138, 139 (kph). He is deceptive and the ball always seems to hit the gloves harder. His big strength is his length and he just gets the ball to wobble. You saw that today (Tuesday against ) on a reasonably flat wicket.”
The captain Dhoni too has been impressed with Kamboj. “Kamboj is someone who doesn’t get swing, but he gets some seam movement, the ball hits you harder than the speed gun suggests, he has taken the responsibility and he is someone who can bowl good yorkers,” MS Dhoni said.
Growing up in Haryana’s Karnal, Kamboj’s entry into cricket was mainly through tennis-ball tournaments. And bowling fast was just a compulsion because, “Nobody wants to bowl spin with a tennis ball. If you bowl spin, you will get hit. So bowling fast was the best option and that’s where you got to learn accuracy as well because the margin for error is very small,” Kamboj says.
