Benched for the entirety of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 with focus on pace and batting firepower, Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari will have a chance to impress India Test batters ahead of one-off Afghanistan Test. His coach, Gopal Singh, said that Ansari has been called in as a net bowler to help counter the Afghan spin challenge in one-off Test at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.
“Yes, Zeeshan left for Chandigarh this evening and will join the teams’ net session tomorrow morning,” his coach Gopal told Hindustan Times.
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“Even though Afghanistan won’t have the services of their star leg spinner Rashid Khan, they have four spinners in the side for the red-ball match and Ansari’s bowling will surely help Indian batters prepare well on a slow surface. This move underlines how a player’s value can extend far beyond match-day appearances,” he added.
No first-class game in 6 years, wreaked havoc in Vijay Hazare Trophy
Notably, Ansari hasn’t played first-class cricket since 2020. However, the 26-year-old, who is of same India Under-19 batch as Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan, made an impact for Uttar Pradesh in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. In the previous season, he was joint-highest second wicket-taker. From eight games, he claimed 21 wickets at an average of 16.52.
Trust in IPL debut season, no game in IPL 2026
In his debut IPL season on the back of impressive performances in UP T20 League for Meerut Mavericks, he had an ordinary debut IPL season, bagging just six wickets from 10 games at an average of 55.50 and economy rate of 9.84 runs per over.
Despite SRH team management not backing him to play a game in IPL 2026, his childhood coach says that head coach Daniel Vettori helped him become a much improved bowler with inputs during training sessions.
“Though he didn’t get a chance to play in the IPL this season, he sharpened his skills during training sessions under the guidance of chief coach and former New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori. He seems to be a much improved bowler now,” Singh said.
There have been stories in the past where net bowlers went on to impress the senior batters and made it into the side. For now, Ansari’s job will be to help counter spin in home conditions which has become a challenge in recent times.