Hyderabad has had a tradition of producing talented and noteworthy spin bowlers. The most famous names range from Ghulam Ahmed in the 1950s to M.L. Jaisimha (who bowled medium pace as well as spin), M.V. Narasimha Rao, Shivlal Yadav, Arshad Ayub, S.L. Venkatapathi Raju, Pragyan Ojha, Kawaljeet Singh and many more.
In the Ranji Trophy tournament of 2024-25, it was Tanay Thyagarajan and his spin bowling teammate Aniketh Reddy who caught the eye with some consistent performances. They baffled and bemused the rival batsmen in several contests.
Tanay, born in 1995, is a left-arm spinner who made his List A debut for Hyderabad in the Vijay Hazare trophy tournament of the 2017-18 season. A year later he made his first-class debut for Hyderabad in the Ranji trophy. He quickly showed his class and became one of the match-winning bowlers for Hyderabad in the following years.
According to Tanay’s coach Adnan Bafana, This left armer is different from Venkatapathi Raju. Back when Raju was at his peak – in the 1990s – there were no T20 competitions so bowlers followed different tactics. Back then spinners would have to develop a deceptive loop and pull batsmen out of the crease, fooling them in the air by using the flight of the ball.
Modern tactics are different
But nowadays, with more white ball matches going on, spin bowlers have to be faster through the air. They must also practice batting so that they can chip in when the situation requires. In that respect, Tanay is a more multidimensional player, says the coach who has been guiding Tanay since 2012.
Tanay’s strength is his superbly accurate line and length. In addition, he has plenty of variations in pace and uses the width of the crease to change the line and angle of attack. Plus he has mastered a well-disguised carrom ball that often foxes the best of batsmen.
Tanay has worked on his batting skills and in the past he has chalked up centuries in junior state-level games for Hyderabad under-19 and under-22 teams. His experience of playing in the IPL for Punjab Kings has given him more confidence to take on rival batters now. In first-class cricket, he has a tally of 131 wickets in 29 matches at an average of 24.52. His best in an innings is 7 for 63 and his best haul in a match is 13 for 144.
Aniketh Reddy, an ideal partner
Tanay’s spin bowling partner G. Aniketh Reddy is a 24-year-old left-arm spinner who made his first-class debut for Hyderabad in the 2019-20 season of the Ranji Trophy. Tanay and he were responsible for demolishing Himachal Pradesh. Aniketh took 5 for 72 in the first innings and 4 for 46 in the second innings.
The teamwork and camaraderie between the two spinners is a big asset for Hyderabad. The lessons that they and their teammates have learned must be carried over into the next season. It is important to look to the future of Hyderabad cricket. It is good that there is no feeling of rivalry between the spin duos.
So, thanks to good performances from these two spinners and consistently excellent batting by Tanmay Agarwal who piled up huge scores, Hyderabad recovered from two defeats and took fourth place in the Elite Group B league of the Ranji trophy. With hard work and determination, the current players can take the team into the quarter-final stage in the next year. The overall signals for Hyderabad seem positive right now.
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