Anshul Kamboj turns discipline into a case for the 2027 World Cup

In the short break that Anshul Kamboj had before flying to New Zealand, first for the A series and then for the ODI tour, the seamer did a routine in Karnal that he wanted to be part of his muscle memory. Bowling with the white ball in an open ground, the 25-year-old would run in and keep hitting the back-of-a-length area around the off-stump channel.

It is nothing special. It is the basics. But it is what Kamboj wants to become muscle memory. With a year to go for the ODI World Cup, India are still figuring out which puzzle piece fits where and which of the pacers will offer them more flexibility. While Jasprit Bumrah's place appears locked, the same can't be said for the others. There is Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and, of course, Mohammed Siraj, a pacer they have sparingly used in the format of late.

While India have had the luxury of batting and bowling depth in T20Is, in ODIs the story is different. It is why they are still figuring out who offers what in the middle overs, and the beneficiary of Prasidh's injury, which has ruled him out of the series, has been Kamboj. At Auckland in the first ODI, Arshdeep and Auqib Nabi took the new ball, with Kamboj coming in at first change.

As he had been doing in Karnal, on a pitch with plenty of help for the seamers, Kamboj did nothing extraordinary. His spell read 10-2-22-2, with 46 of the 60 balls dots, and it earned him the player-of-the-match award in India's five-wicket win. He kept pitching it in areas where batsmen would be caught in a fix over going forward or back, and used the movement to his advantage. "Right through the training in Karnal, all he focussed on was line and length. If you keep hitting the off-stump channel and make the ball move from back of a length, on most days you will have a good outing. It is up to the batsmen to take you on," his coach Satish Rana, who has been with him since his Under-14 days, tells The Indian Express.

Like his Test debut, Kamboj's ODI debut was one to forget. Against West Indies at New Chandigarh, he conceded 82 in nine overs. But if there is one aspect that Rana says comes to Kamboj more naturally than hitting the right lengths, it is his ability not to get carried away by one good performance or feel bogged down by a bad one. "He is a very level-headed fellow. He may not be expressive, but he is a thinking cricketer. He usually bowls in the nets, but this time he wanted to bowl in the open ground just to get a hang of it. Despite playing Ranji, he was practising with the white ball whenever he had the opportunity," Rana says.

While Kamboj's strength remains the movement, India also want to see how he performs in unfamiliar territory. Coming in at first change was one such ploy. In recent times the middle overs have become the phase where batting sides show more urgency to score before they face just one old ball from the 34th over. A wicket-taking bowler with an X-factor is what India are ideally searching for, with Brar's pace being seen as one. The plan seems to be to see what each option gives.

This is where it gets interesting with Kamboj. In the last IPL, he showed he can be counted on to bowl at the death too, executing wide yorkers from round the stumps to right-handers. But bowling in the middle overs remains a work in progress, without changing his strengths.

For example, on South African decks, the natural line that Kamboj bowls could come in very handy even in the middle overs. The pitches in the Rainbow Nation, once baked under the sun, tend to quicken up and aid seam movement. On such surfaces, not just bounce, even control offers more to bowling sides.

Having started to hit the high 130s kmph consistently, Kamboj is also working on his fitness, which would allow him to add a couple of yards of pace. "Whenever he isn't bowling, he is indulging in a lot of strength training because he wants to improve his fitness as well as get quicker. It is a process he has been working on consistently, so if he continues to get miles under his legs, then you will definitely see an increase soon," Rana says.

With musical chairs expected to continue in the lead-up to the World Cup, it will all eventually come down to who can perform the different roles. Kamboj, being a handy batsman, offers the depth they desperately seek as well. But his case still begins where it began in Karnal: a white ball, an open ground, and the same length, again and again.

Kamboj's strengths

With the new ball, he is known as a seamer who can make it move both ways. Since Bhuvneshwar Kumar faded from the scene, India are yet to have a reliable option for early breakthroughs.

While it is Bumrah who largely shares the load of bowling at the death, the emergence of Arshdeep offers another option in the format. But India would ideally prefer another seamer who can excel at the death, and in the IPL Kamboj has provided encouraging signs.

What is yet to be seen is what Kamboj can offer when the pitch is on the flatter side. Without movement, he has very little to work around. So if he can find a way to be successful in the middle overs, India would be relieved.