Birthday special: Anukul Roy – Exciting all-rounder who can do wonders for India

Anukul Sudhakar Roy is one of the emerging talents in Indian cricket. He has been representing Jharkhand in domestic cricket since 2017. Apart from having made a mark in first-class cricket, the budding spinner has also been a part of two IPL teams- Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Anukul Roy is patiently waiting for a chance to knock at the doors of the national selectors for donning the India jersey. However, for that to happen, he must first keep on showcasing consistent performances at the domestic level.

Here’s all you need to know about Anukul Roy as he turns 24 on November 30

It all started for the left-arm spinner during India’s historic ICC U19 World Cup 2018 triumph in New Zealand under Prithvi Shaw’s captaincy where the Boys in Blue were undefeated throughout the tournament.

He finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker of that competition registering 14 scalps to his name from six matches averaging 9.07.

Roy’s consistency with the ball in hand was applauded by one and all and he was bought by the Mumbai Indians during the IPL 2018 mega auctions. Life did come full circle for Anukul Roy at that point in time. However, that was not at all the case leading up to the U19 World Cup a few months earlier.

He suffered from a stress-related ankle injury which had put his U19 World Cup participation in jeopardy well in advance as the injury forced the youngster to miss the U19 Challenger Series as well as the U19 Asia Cup. Nonetheless, the boy did not give up, fought against all odds and won the confidence of the then-head coach Rahul Dravid who gave him a green signal to be a part of the Indian squad for the marquee event.

Being a cricketer was Anukul’s dream from a very young age for which he also had to make one big sacrifice. In order to turn his dreams into reality, the passionate kid shifted to Jharkhand for better opportunities from his hometown, Samastipur district in Bihar.

Apart from his bowling abilities, Roy is also an exceptional fielder and a very handy batter. The southpaw has scored 733 runs from 18 FC matches including two centuries and three half-centuries with his highest individual score being 153. He also has registered 815 runs from 40 List A games that include four 50s.

As far as his bowling performances are concerned, Anukul Roy has taken 52 first-class and 39 List A wickets to his name. Moreover, he has also registered 23 scalps from 37 T20 matches.