He asked for the ball. Then took six: Mukesh Kumar’s Irani Cup heroics raise a New Zealand question for India

Mukesh Choudhary had been Rest of India's wrecker-in-chief in the first innings, with a five-wicket haul. In the second, he couldn't find his rhythm with the new ball. He went for 29 runs in his first five overs as Jammu and Kashmir, chasing 279 on the day-four pitch at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar, looked to settle early.

Mukesh Kumar, who had opened the bowling alongside him, had conceded 12 runs in his first 18 balls. Akash Deep replaced him and made an instant impact, removing Qamran Iqbal. Mukesh then walked up to stand-in captain Sarfaraz Khan and pleaded animatedly to be brought back.

Sarfaraz relented and gave him a second spell. On the fifth ball, Mukesh gave Shubham Pundir an lbw scare, but the batter had the decision overturned on review. An over later, Mukesh got Pundir with a sharp nip-backer that struck the knee roll. This time, it was Mukesh who got the decision overturned.

He didn't stop there. On the very next ball, J&K captain Paras Dogra, who had top-scored with 75 in the first innings and carried the chase's hopes, was sent back for a golden duck. The delivery was full, nipped away and hit the top of middle stump, while Dogra stayed rooted to the crease with his front foot going nowhere. J&K were three down for 65.

Mukesh was overjoyed. He had backed himself to get the breakthrough, and he had delivered. He celebrated with an Imran Tahir-style "catch me if you can" run.

But the wicket was nothing new for the Bengal fast bowler. It is the kind of delivery that built his reputation. On a pitch with grass and a hint of seam, he was always going to be hard to stop, much like on the green top at Eden Gardens in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy semi-final against Karnataka, where a six-wicket spell sent Bengal into the final.

On Sunday, he added Kanhaiya Wadhawan after lunch and then returned to take the last three wickets in a single over. He finished with 6 for 33 and eight wickets in the match. J&K's last seven wickets fell for just 22 runs, four of them Mukesh's, and Rest of India won the Irani Cup by 167 runs.

A performance like this, on conditions similar to what India will face in New Zealand next month, is bound to raise one question: why not Mukesh?

The 32-year-old has played three Tests for India. He made his debut in the West Indies in 2023 and took 2 for 48 in the first innings. In Cape Town in January 2024, he took four wickets, including Dean Elgar's. Against England in Vizag, on a flat pitch, he went for 1 for 70. Three Tests and seven wickets at 25.57 is too small a record to judge him on right away, but six of those seven wickets came away from home.

After that, he fell out of reckoning for a place in the Indian team but stayed on the fringes. Perhaps he was waiting for a performance like the one in Srinagar to revive his chances.

New Zealand's grounds should suit him. Wellington and Christchurch, where India play the Tests starting November 19, have traditionally offered seam and swing. Bowlers there often say the way to use that movement is to pitch the ball up and let it move, which is Mukesh's natural length.

Right now, he is not in the scheme of things. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep and Gurnoor Brar are reportedly the names the selectors are looking at. But with the volume of cricket India are playing and the injuries that have plagued the team management recently, the selectors will want Mukesh in mind as a stand-by option.

Bumrah missed the Sri Lanka Test tour with a knee problem and was later named for the Afghanistan T20Is in September, subject to fitness. Siraj lacked rhythm in the series, with a visible drop in pace. Krishna stepped up, taking seven wickets at 24.57, while Brar remains uncapped.

Srinagar was not a one-off for Mukesh. The case also rests on his Duleep Trophy form: 12 wickets in five innings at 14.91, making him the best bowler in the competition. That included seven wickets in the semi-final, which won him Player of the Match, and three in the final. He now has 20 wickets in his last four domestic red-ball matches, across five weeks, for two winning sides.

The selectors may not have an answer right away. Mukesh has merely put himself back in the reckoning, and it is up to the committee to give him a chance to prove himself before the New Zealand tour. That chance could come through selection for India A's red-ball games in New Zealand, which start on October 24. It would be one way to get him there before the senior side arrives.