Vijay Hazare Trophy: Inspired by Warne, Zeeshan Ansari uses IPL success to fuel First-Class dream

During a game of ‘tip run’ at the Chowk Stadium in Lucknow, coach Abhay Sharma asked if any of the kids wanted to try their hand at bowling. Up went the hand of a five-year-old from Aliganj. As if rehearsed, the first ball he delivered was with a leg-spin action.

For Zeeshan Ansari, even at that tender age, the hours spent watching Shane Warne bowl had left a lasting cerebral impact.

“ Ek dum pagalon ki tarah dekhtha tha (I used to look at Warne like a crazy person). His ability to get people bowled from behind their legs fascinated me. So, at the ground, I just stepped up and bowled. The coach came over and said, ‘From now on, you will only bowl leg spin,” Ansari told  Sportstar.

Meteoric rise

Twenty one years later, the obsession has ushered Ansari through the Under-19 World Cup, domestic cricket and now, in 2025, the Indian Premier League (IPL).

For a young Ansari, the journey from school to the Chowk Stadium and back home, a 30km round trip, proved too strenuous. He shifted to a ground much closer to home to hone his skills under coach Gopal Singh, a man he calls his second father.

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“He taught me all the basics of leg spin. Even now, when I am in Lucknow, I make it a point to meet him first. He knows everything about me, how I bowl, and he gives me a lot of advice,” the 26-year-old said.

The leggie rose to the national spotlight aged 16, finding a place in the Indian squad for the Under-19 World Cup 2016 held in Bangladesh. Ansari played two games, against Sri Lanka and Ireland, taking two wickets as the team, comprising Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, and Washington Sundar, finished runner-up.

A domestic senior debut came at his home ground in the Ranji Trophy just a year later, and Ansari repaid captain Suresh Raina’s faith with a six-wicket haul, albeit in a loss. A few more First-Class (FC) appearances came in the next two seasons before he suddenly found himself with no route back to the senior team.

Obscurity to spotlight

After years in the wilderness, the advent of the UP T20 league gave his career a new lease of life. Ansari finished as the top wicket-taker in Season 1 (2024) for champion Meerut Mavericks, with 24 wickets in 12 matches. The IPL franchises came calling. Both Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Capitals put in bids. He was eventually signed by the Orange Army for Rs 40 lakh.

His IPL debut came in SRH’s third game of the season against the Capitals in Visakhapatnam and the tweaker impressed with a three-wicket haul despite being expensive. He contributed only six wickets in 10 matches through the year, but SRH had seen enough skill, especially on batter-friendly pitches in Hyderabad, to retain him as its first-choice leg-spinner ahead of internationals Rahul Chahar and Adam Zampa.

The IPL gig allowed Ansari to pick the brains of two more legendary figures in the sphere of spin bowling, Daniel Vettori and Muthiah Muralitharan. Ansari says, with a chuckle, that there was no end to the knowledge he was able to attain from the two coaches.

“An important value I gathered is that nobody ever speaks negatively in that environment. Whatever you do, only the positive side is spoken about. This is something I share with my friends here, too,” the spinner said.

“I learned a lot about what each batter thinks, where to bowl, what kind of delivery and how to get your basics right every time. I am very hungry to continue taking in their insights,” he added.

Ultimate test

There is one domain that Ansari is still yearning to perfect – his red-ball game. He is yet to feature in the longest format since his last Ranji appearance against Tamil Nadu in 2020. In his five FC encounters so far, he has picked 17 wickets at 30.76.

“I love red-ball cricket. It is the format I played all through my junior years. I love putting myself to the test because it requires a lot of patience. I enjoy using my brain to fool batters,” Ansari explained.

“Your basics matter a lot. So much of it is about the rhythm you can acquire. My focus is on my run-up and ensuring the ball lands where I want it to land. That matters the most,” he added.

If he can continue to outwit batters as he did in the opening two Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025 fixtures (figures of 4/31 and 4/29), a call-up for the two remaining Ranji Trophy games early next year could be a realistic possibility. Nothing, Ansari says, will bring him more joy. 

Published on Dec 28, 2025