Dubey's 'positive mindset' helps Central Zone secure first-innings lead

Life has been on the fast lane for 23-year-old Vidarbha allrounder Harsh Dubey. A record-breaking 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season, an IPL call-up as a replacement player, an India A debut, a Duleep Trophy debut. All in the space of 11 months.

What has stood out in the last year is Dubey stepping up in crunch matches. His twin fifties in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Tamil Nadu twice helped Vidarbha recover from sticky situations. He was instrumental in Vidarbha's semi-final win against Mumbai, picking a five-wicket haul in the second innings, and in the final, his three wickets denied Kerala a first-innings lead.

On a day when Dubey was named in India A's squad for a red-ball series against Australia A, he was at it again, this time for Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy semi-final. When he walked out on the third morning, Central had lost three wickets in a short span. They were still 116 runs away from a first-innings lead and the momentum was with West Zone.

But Dubey was determined not to let the bowlers dominate. He worked Shams Mulani through midwicket early in his innings and then drove him through covers to move to a run-a-ball 26 before lunch. Precise in his footwork, front and back, Dubey's handling of the spinners stood out. He barely hit a shot in the air but found the gaps with ease.

When Tushar Deshpande went short, Dubey pulled him off the front foot through midwicket. When Tanush Kotian went marginally leg side, he swept him fine. By the time Dubey reached his half-century, off 62 balls, Central Zone were just 11 runs shy of taking the lead.

"When I was batting, I only had the first-innings lead in my mind and how I could cross that [West Zone's total]," Dubey said. "I have always had a positive mindset. I was trying to find gaps, collect boundaries so that other things become easy for me. I thought if I played with a defensive mindset, there were chances I would hit one ball in the air. My plan was not to let the bowler settle and try not to let him target just one spot."

Dubey's 75 off 93 balls wasn't his only noteworthy performance. He also picked up three wickets, playing an important part in restricting West Zone to 438. On a surface which wasn't aiding spin, Dubey relied on his pace variations and changes in lengths to keep the batters from dominating.

"I believe more in classical left-arm spin," he said. "I try to vary the pace and deceive the batsman with spin and pace. When the wicket is playing well, then obviously you can't bowl at the same pace, it becomes easy for a batsman to score runs. I just try to vary my pace, and bowl with a plan in mind. So that keeps running in the back of the mind."

Dubey averages 20.99 with the ball and 24.03 with the bat in first-class cricket. While he started his career as a batter and later developed his left-arm spin, he doesn't want to label himself as a batting or bowling allrounder. "Jo toss me pehle aa gaya, main wo choose karunga," he says. [Whatever I am doing first after the toss, I'll choose that].

It's this dual role that earned Dubey a place in the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad late into the IPL 2025 season as a replacement player for R Smaran. He had moderate returns - five wickets in three matches at an economy of 9.80 - but caught the eye of Daniel Vettori and Anil Kumble, who were impressed by his consistency.

"I was at home at that time and was not expecting a call-up at all," Dubey said. "The IPL was almost done and SRH had four matches left. I got a lucky break. Yes, there was some crowd pressure. But the one positive thing about me is that I don't look at the batsman. I think about how to put the ball in the right area and how to execute my plan."

Dubey made his Ranji Trophy debut in December 2022, but 2024-25 was his first full season for Vidarbha. He isn't doing anything different now from when he first started, he says, but feels the clarity around his role has helped him in the last year.

"I think I have got better opportunities," he said, "And I now have a lot more clarity about my role, my ability, and what I can do on the ground. So I think it's a mix of clarity and the right opportunities at the right time.

"We play a lot more red-ball cricket [in Vidarbha]. I think because of that, our basics are very good. My base has been very good since childhood, and I am getting the results now."