Who is Saurabh Kumar? All you need to know about UP all-rounder who earned India call-up for England Tests

A decade ago, Saurabh Kumar’s name was probably unheard of in the domestic cricket fraternity but little did everyone know that he would go on to make an impact as a bowling all-rounder in his short first-class career so far.

The Baghpat-born carved out a reputation for himself as a utility player for Services and Uttar Pradesh, delivering the goods with the ball and bat. The left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder’s name echoed in every nook and corner of the cricket fraternity after the national selection committee picked him for the squad for the ongoing Test series against England.

Saurabh Kumar once earned a maiden Test cricket call-up for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka but he never got to make his debut.

Who is Saurabh Kumar? Everything you need to know about him

The 30-year-old operates as a bowling all-rounder for Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit. Once working for the Indian Air Force, he represented the Services cricket team. Ever since shifting his base from Services to UP, it did him a world of good as he made an instant impact in his debut Ranji season.

He essayed 304 runs and accounted for 17 dismissals, including a 10-wicket haul in his fresh outing in the 2016-17 season. These scintillating performances helped him grab the headlines. In the subsequent season, he came through with flying colours once again as he finished as the leading wicket-taker for Uttar Pradesh, taking 23 wickets to his credit.

It is worth noting here that his stellar batting display came against the Baroda cricket team wherein he and Kuldeep Yadav stitched together a record 192-run liaison for the eighth wicket. The duo scored a hundred apiece, which helped Uttar Pradesh bag a thrilling draw. Having played 68 First-class games, he scored 2061 runs including 2 centuries and 12 fifties whereas he took 290 wickets including 22 fifers and 8 ten-wicket hauls.

On the other hand, he scored 314 runs including a fifty in 35 List-A games, taking 49 wickets to his credit, whereas he took 24 wickets in 33 T20s. In 2017, the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant bought him for INR 10 lakh, albeit he didn’t play a single match. In 2022, Punjab Kings recruited him at his base price of INR 20 lakh and he's yet to make his IPL appearance.