ICC U-19 World Cup 2018: Anukul Roy: Reluctant bowler to lead spinner

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Kolkata, January 18: Anukul Roy hogged limelight when the India under-19 spinner grabbed five wickets (5/14) against Papua New Guinea in the ongoing ICC Under-19 World Cup 2018 in New Zealand. But did you know that he never even wanted to bowl!

Anukul Roy, a native of Jharkhand, started his career wanting to become a batsman. Brajesh Jha, Roy's childhood coach, said the latest star focused more on batting in tennis ball cricket in his formative years

"I used to visit cricket grounds in Jharkhand. One day, I noticed Anukul hitting sixes against fast bowlers during a tennis ball game. I came to know that Anukul had already become hero in tennis ball matches in Jharkhand and was scoring centuries in almost every match. So I brought him to Samastipur Cricket Club and for the first time Anukul had to wear pads and gloves to face Duke ball," Jha said from Samastipur.

But when did the turnaround happened? "At the nets, I observed Anukul was imparting spin to the ball. He was not afraid to give the ball air. But at the same time, he was reluctant to bowl at the nets and kept asking me for batting time," said.

"V Venkatram, another experienced coach finally convinced him to concentrate on bowling too," he added.

Anukul progressed as a spinner under the watch of Venkatram in Jamshedpur. Later he got selected to the Indian under-19 team for the recent England tour - an impressive effort on that trip ensured his berth in the World Cup squad.