Vijay Hazare Trophy: Kerala’s Eden Apple Tom yet to find his feet in white ball cricket

On the grandest stage of Indian domestic cricket—the Ranji Trophy final 2025—a young fast bowler thrust himself into the collective consciousness of cricket fans by bowling with sustained hostility.

It was his first match after recovering from a career threatening stress fracture on his back, the then 19-year-old Eden Apple Tom devoured Vidarbha’s batting mainstays like Dhruv Shorey, Yash Rathod and Akshay Wadkar in the first innings. It was a spell which earned praise from former India fast bowler Prashant Vaidya and underlined his immense potential.

However, having set high standards, Eden hasn’t been able to live up to the expectations in the current Ranji Trophy season, though the bowler insists he was closer to his best in the last league match against Madhya Pradesh.

Also read | ‘Lot of medicine, lot of rest’ — Raghuvanshi overcomes neck injury and steers Mumbai to victory

In the season opener, Eden came on to bowl with Maharashtra reeling at 55 for five but failed to make use of excellent bowling conditions and sprayed the ball around. Eden showed signs of regaining form in the match against Saurashtra but dropped catches didn’t help to improve his confidence.

“It is not that I was struggling. I bowled close to my best in the last league game against Madhya Pradesh. But I admit I was a bit confused and my mind wasn’t calm when I bowled against Maharashtra in the season opener. So many things went through my mind. Now I have realised my mistake and with every match I am learning and improving,’’ said Eden.

Eden didn’t have a great time in Kerala Cricket League (KCL) and failed to get an IPL contract. But he has taken the setback in its stride and is working hard to improve his white ball skills. “I am still struggling to find my feet in white ball cricket; I haven’t played much of it when I was with the Kerala junior teams. My first experience with the white ball was while attending the Under-19 India camp. Mostly I bowl hard lengths, and I have to learn to control the movement with the white ball. I am working on my variations with help of my coaches and senior bowlers, ‘’ he said after making his VHT debut for Kerala against Madhya Pradesh.

Former Kerala captain Sony Cheruvathur, who coached Eden in his formative years, feels his ward needs to develop two or three variations and should learn how to use it in match situations. “The hard length he bowls in white ball cricket makes him predictable. He has to develop variations and use them intelligently without giving any clue to the batters,’’ said Sony.

Published on Dec 30, 2025