TimesofIndia.com in Lucknow: It took Surendra Dubey and Jyoti Dubey nearly 24 hours to travel from Nagpur to Lucknow. A delayed train only added to the journey, but nothing could dampen the spirits of the proud parents, who had missed watching their son Harsh Dubey make his India debut in Dharamsala because they couldn’t secure flight tickets at short notice. Determined not to miss his second international appearance, they left nothing to chance and booked Tatkal tickets for the Lucknow ODI.“Train got delayed, but it was worth it. We missed his debut match, because we got the news of him making the debut only at 7 pm (a day before the first ODI). We tried our best but no flights were available. So for Lucknow ODI, we didn’t took the risk and booked the tatkaal tickets,” Surendra Dubey, a former Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer, tells TimesofIndia.com.Much like the train journey his parents undertook to be in Lucknow, Harsh Dubey’s path to the Indian team has been a fascinating one. It has involved several stops along the way, each adding a new dimension to his game and helping him sharpen his skill set.It all started with an accidental turn. As an 11-year-old, Harsh Dubey had accompanied his father to buy books when they took a wrong turn and found themselves outside Ruby Cricket Club in Nagpur. A young Harsh aspired to be a batter, and Sanjog Binkar, a former Vidarbha Ranji Trophy player, saw something special in him. Convinced of the youngster’s potential, he assured Surendra Dubey that the boy had a bright future ahead.“Bilkul golu molu sa bachha (He was a chubby kid). But very curious. From that age, he used to ask so many questions. I was also an active cricketer back then, and his questions were so pertinent that I had to come prepared before every session. He made me a coach and I can proudly say he is my first student,” Binkar tells this website proudly about his ward.“In his interviews, he always says that batting is his first love. It is true. He is an accidental bowler, or shall I just say he is immensely gifted that he became an excellent bowler as well,” adds Binkar.Dubey picked up 69 wickets in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season. It was the most by any bowler in the competition’s history. The wily customer also scored 476 runs with the bat, earning the Player of the Tournament award.“His basics with both bat and ball are solid. With the ball, he always used to keep bowling at one spot. It was his batting where he was adventurous. I remember a time when I was fed up with him trying to hoick every bowler out of the park. I got so frustrated that I tied a rope to his leg and put a big stone at one end of it, then challenged him to step out. That’s how he improved his footwork,” laughs Binkar.Between batting, bowling and fielding, Surendra Dubey and Savita Dubey balanced their jobs. Once he started doing well and was picked for the Vijay Merchant Trophy (U-16), the parents took a bold call. Mr Dubey took the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) and Mrs Dubey quit her teaching job so that they could concentrate on Harsh.At 19, Harsh moved to the Nagpur Cricket Academy, which is associated with the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA), and coach Madhav Bakre immediately realised that they had a gem in their hands.“We had heard about Harsh. His exploits in junior cricket were well known,” shares Bakre.But despite performing well in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, he missed out on the 2020 U-19 World Cup team, and it forced Harsh to introspect.“He asked us what he was lacking. As a coach, I knew that there was nothing wrong with his talent. It was his fitness. I bluntly told him to work on his fitness,” recollects Bakre.“From the next day, he was a changed man. After every win, we used to celebrate in our academy with samosas and jalebis, and he stopped eating them. Since that conversation, I don’t think he has eaten sugar. And now he is reaping the rewards,” adds Bakre.In the 2022-23 season, Dubey made his Ranji Trophy debut. He picked up 18 wickets in six matches. The next year, he took 19 wickets in as many matches.Before the 2024-25 season, Prashant Vaidya, former India seamer and the director of VCA’s Cricket Academy, contacted Ramji Srinivasan, the former Head Strength and Conditioning (S&C) Coach of the India national cricket team, and asked if he could send four of their best players to Chennai to work with him.“Prashant sent four kids. Harsh was one of them. The others were Prafull Hinge, Akshay Wadkar and one more boy. They spent three weeks with me in Chennai. It was an S&C session. I should not take any credit or blow my own trumpet, but those new exercise methods did wonders for Harsh,” he says.“Be it an off-spinner, a left-arm spinner, a leg-spinner or a chinaman, everyone has a specialised workout chart. With Harsh, we worked on how he could use the crease more so that he could bowl 25 overs in a day with the red ball. Sometimes in the Ranji Trophy, a left-arm spinner ends up bowling 35-40 overs. Their bodies need to adapt so that they can recover quickly. We work on that aspect,” he adds.“It was snowing in Chennai,” laughs Ramji. “Jokes apart, it was hot and humid, and that boy showed great discipline in those three weeks. Now he is reaping the rewards. He understood the importance of fitness and that’s why he is now playing for India.”On the eve of the second ODI, India’s bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule heaped praise on the youngster and tipped him to become a top all-rounder for India.“Harsh definitely has a good future as an all-rounder. He has done exceedingly well for Vidarbha, and I think that’s the reason he has been given this opportunity,” said Bahutule.“With every game, you learn. Even in the last game, he was under pressure after that first over, but the way he came back was impressive. Shubman also used him very well, made the right changes at the right time and gave him the ends that suited him.“He is a player for the future. He has the skills and a good temperament, and he has proved that not only in domestic cricket. The more he plays and the more experience he gets, the more he will enhance his skills.”On his debut on a flat track in Dharamsala, Dubey picked up three for 47 and showed glimpses of his potential. Now, in Lucknow, he will have a chance to perform better with his parents watching from the stands. The secret of Harsh Dubey’s success is that he has had many stops in his journey, but each one has only enhanced his craft and prepared him to become an India cricketer, which he dreamt of while buying books for the fifth grade.
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