In the lead-up to the World Cup in Hyderabad on September 28, Nishanth Saranu, a six-foot-nine-inch fast bowler from the Hyderabad U19 team, drew significant attention during Pakistan's first practice session for ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.
Nishanth, currently in his second year of U19 cricket, was one of the numerous net bowlers available for Pakistan's training, which occurred 12 hours after their high-profile arrival in the city.
In preparation for their World Cup warm-up match against New Zealand on Friday, Pakistan had prominent bowlers like Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi in their ranks. Following their spells, Pakistan's support staff, including bowling coach Morne Morkel, singled out Nishanth from a group of eager net bowlers.
Since Pakistani bowlers like Rauf and Shaheen typically operate in the 140-150 kmph range, the young Hyderabad pacer was encouraged to significantly increase his pace.
This feedback wasn't exclusive to Nishanth; it applied to all the pacers bowling in the nets. Nishanth mainly bowled to lower-order batsmen, with the exception of opener Fakhar Zaman, who believed that Nishanth could excel if he added more pace to complement his natural bounce, owing to his tall stature.
"I currently can bowl up to 125-130 kmph. Morne (Morkel) sir asked me to increase my pace. He also inquired if I would be available to bowl at the nets of IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants," said Nishanth to Press Trust India (PTI), who idolises the Australian pace duo of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.
Nishanth is no stranger to bowling against international batters. He was previously called upon to bowl in preparation for the India-New Zealand ODI series and even shared a picture with batter Glenn Phillips.
"My aim is to have a career in both white and red ball cricket. So, the immediate goal is to represent Hyderabad at the first-class level," he added.
