Harsh Dubey, bowler with most wickets in a single Ranji Trophy season, makes IPL debut

Harsh Dubey made his IPL debut for the Sunrisers Hyderabad against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium on Monday just days after being named in the India 'A" squad for the tour to England next month.

The The left-arm spinner replaced Australian opener Travis Head, who was ruled out of the clash after rejoining the squad late due to a COVID-19 infection.

Dubey bowled his four over, including two with the new ball, and claimed the important wicket of a dangerous-looking Mitchell Marsh. He ended his spell with 1/44.

Who is Harsh Dubey

The 22-year-old from Vidarbha was unsold at the IPL 2025 mega auction but was later signed as an injury replacement by SunRisers Hyderabad for R Smaran.

He is a left-arm spinner who can also contribute with the bat and made headlines during the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season, picking up 69 wickets. He broke the record for the most wickets in a single Ranji Trophy season, surpassing Ashutosh Aman's tally of 68 wickets set in 2018-19.

Following the successful domestic season, Dubey was playing First Division League cricket in Chennai. However, his stint was cut short when SRH signed him as a replacement player on May 5. He did not get a game before the IPL was suspended due to rising cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan.

Dubey made it into the playing 11 in SRH's first match after the resumption of IPL. He was given his opportunity alongside Atharva Taide, who was brought in as an Impact Substitute for Jaydev Unadkat.

Harsh has played 18 first-class matches, claiming 97 wickets at an impressive average of 19.88 since making his debut for Vidarbha in December 2022,

However, his performances in white-ball cricket have yet to reflect similar numbers. He has taken 21 wickets in 20 List A matches and 9 wickets in 16 T20 matches, though he has maintained an economical T20 rate of 6.78.

With SRH already out of playoff contention, Harsh will now depart for England with the first batch of India 'A' players. Led by Abhimanyu Easwaran, the India A side will play two four-day matches in England before facing the senior Indian Test team in an intra-squad match.