Ravi Bishnoi

A leg spinner who bowls more googlies than leg breaks, Ravi Bishnoi is an ideal modern day cricketer who’s made a place for himself in the T20 setup. His ability to bowl quick with a low arm action and a deceptive googly makes it difficult for batters to attack him.

Born and raised in Jodhpur, Ravi Bishnoi took to cricket early and modeled his action around Shane Warne. He was picked for the 2020 U19 World Cup where he impressed all, emerging as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. He was picked by Punjab Kings in the IPL and was on the shortlist for Emerging Player of the tournament in his debut season.

In 2022, Bishnoi was traded to new franchise Lucknow Super Giants alongside KL Rahul and Marcus Stoinis. He performed decently for his new team as well, bowling a lot of the difficult overs for his team and picking 13 wickets as LSG made the playoffs. A call-up to the Indian T20I side followed, as he made his debut in a home series against West Indies. An ODI debut followed soon after but faced with stiff contention for a spinner’s spot, Bishnoi failed to cement his spot as a regular.

Bishnoi performed decently in his scattered opportunities for India, but he missed out on the T20I World Cup squad for 2022. He was a part of a second-string Indian squad that won the Gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games. After having seemingly usurped the leg spinner’s spot from Yuzvendra Chahal, Bishnoi missed out on selection for the 2024 T20 World Cup as well as the selectors opted for the more experienced Chahal. Following India’s T20 World Cup win, however, in which Chahal played no part, the selectors turned to Bishnoi once again and he was promptly back in India’s T20I setup.