India has been blessed with vast cricketing riches. The latest proof of its ever-widening talent pool is that four teams of international regulars and hopefuls have been playing in four different locations across three formats.
But an eyebrow is always raised when it comes to one particular player profile – the pace-bowling all-rounder. Hardik Pandya is undoubtedly the numero uno, but recurring injuries have kept him out of the national side for a while. Nitish Kumar Reddy is the next in line, but injuries haven’t been kind to him either.
This has opened the door for young Suryansh Shedge from Mumbai to spend time around the first-team setup. The selectors have earmarked him as a future option, and his latest effort with the ball for India A against Australia A proves why.
On a surface that offered little extra bounce for the pacers, the 23-year-old registered his career-best List-A figures of 4/35 in the first one-dayer in Puducherry.
Yash Thakur’s opening burst in the first PowerPlay had given Suryansh an idea of the conditions. The area just short of good length was the one to target.
The first over didn’t quite go to plan, and the pacer conceded 11, including two boundaries. But when he got the ball for a second spell, he found the sweet spot.
“After the first over, I realised that the ball is coming on nicely at full length or conventional good length. So I used the scrambled seam a lot and tried to hit the deck, which gave me a lot of positives,” the all-rounder said. Suryansh has always been a hard-lengths bowler. He says it comes naturally due to his action. “If I can master that length, it will always give me an upper hand against batters,” he says.
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But what will excite him and the coaches tracking him will be how he picked up his next three wickets. Australia A skipper Will Sutherland and Nathan McSweeney had warded off the pace threat, and their run accumulation against spin helped swell the partnership to 141.
Suryansh struck again in his third spell, this time reversing the old ball into Sutherland, rattling his stumps. The late movement also accounted for Todd Murphy and Spencer Johnson, both nicking behind slightly fuller balls.
Suryansh came into this shadow tour after a brief injury setback. He played three T20Is in three different countries in June and July, but was forced to spend some time at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. “I took the injury as a blessing in disguise because it was just the start of the season. I got that time off to get more clarity, get fitter and come back as a better cricketer,” he said.
It was here that he spent time with Hardik, whom he eventually replaced in the India A squad. “Master your stock ball. That will be your USP. When someone is attacking you, you can always fall back on that. If that gets mentally set in your mind, you’ll find it easier,” this was the senior all-rounder’s advice to his junior partner, Shedge recollects.
Speaking to Sportstar in the winter of 2024, after his heroics with the bat helped Mumbai to the Syed Mushtaq Ali title, the then 21-year-old revealed he began practising bowling seriously only at 19. He has made rapid strides since, for which he credits the work done behind the scenes and the tips he picked up from speaking with senior players.
“I think when you’re bowling in different situations, you learn a lot about yourself. Especially when you’re around people who have won games for India. That’s what I’ve tried to do in the last year — learn as much as I can,” he said.
Speaking to Sportstar in the winter of 2024, after his heroics with the bat helped Mumbai to the Syed Mushtaq Ali title, the then 21-year-old revealed he began practising bowling seriously only at 19.
| Photo Credit:
BCCI
Speaking to Sportstar in the winter of 2024, after his heroics with the bat helped Mumbai to the Syed Mushtaq Ali title, the then 21-year-old revealed he began practising bowling seriously only at 19.
| Photo Credit:
BCCI
“For the last two years, I’ve been in the COE circuit, going there for camps, talking to different coaches and senior players. I learned a lot during the three T20 series. It gave me a lot of clarity as to what my strengths are and what I need to work on,” he explained.
He may have bowled the most important spell of his life so far, but Suryansh was dejected post-match for failing to save India from trouble with the bat. But the middle-order finishing prowess that helped him bag an IPL contract with the Punjab Kings and saved India A from collapse away in Sri Lanka shows there is enough potential to work with.
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“I started playing cricket because I love the sport. I want to grow as a player and as a person. So that process is always ongoing. God has been kind because of the hard work I’ve put in, so I’ll continue to do that till the day I’m playing,” he said.
Suryansh’s international career is still very much in its infancy. If he sustains his clarity of thought and ready-for-anything attitude, he very well could be one of the answers to India’s quest for the perfect team balance.
Published on Oct 07, 2026
