"Manifested That I Would Get Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Wicket": UAE Spinner Uddish Suri

With the second ball Uddish Suri bowled in last year's Under-19 Asia Cup game against India at the ICC Academy in Dubai, the UAE left-arm wrist-spinner felt he got out teenaged batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi but was reduced to seeing the left-hander being dropped off his bowling. What followed was carnage - Sooryavanshi tore into the UAE attack for 171 off 95 balls, laced with 14 sixes, as India piled up 433/6. Six bowlers felt the full force of it. Suri, somehow, did not come under attack. He bowled 23 balls to Sooryavanshi and gave away exactly 23 runs - one four and one six among them. In his penultimate over, he even castled the dangerous Sooryavanshi, who's now in the senior India T20I setup.

Suri finished with 2-77 from his ten overs, but containing that version of Sooryavanshi, which is something far more experienced bowlers have failed to do, is still talked about in the cricketing circles. For Suri, it was no accident, as that had been in the making for a long time.

“Before the tournament had started like about a month and a half before, I had always been planning ahead. I believe in manifestation a lot. So, I think I had manifested that I would be the one getting this wicket. I think from one or two months, I was working with our coaches like Naveed sir, Zahoor sir, Nael sir, Manpreet sir, our analyst at that time.

“I think I was just going through his videos as well and like to see where his strong areas were, where I could maybe bowl to him to not get hit, try to get saved and try to take his wicket. I think that had helped me a lot, especially a day or two before I was sitting with our head coach Naveed sir.

“I was discussing with him how I can bowl to him and how I can make him struggle to actually score against me. I think it worked at the end of the day and I was really happy to get his wicket, obviously. It was a great feeling at the end of the day,” Uddish recalled in an exclusive interaction with IANS, facilitated by Sony Sports Network, ahead of this year's Under-19 Asia Cup, which begins in Oman on Thursday.

Uddish will need that kind of homework again, and probably more of it. The UAE are placed alongside India, Pakistan and Nepal in this year's U19 Asia Cup. After Sooryavanshi, the spotlight in Indian men's age-group cricket has been on Anvay Dravid and Aaryavir Sehwag, sons of Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag.

Both featured in India U19's recent series win against Australia U19 and struck quickfire hundreds of their own in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. There's also captain Lakshay Raichandani and Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan to plan against as well when the India-UAE clash happens on November 10.

That appetite for a contest and come out on top goes back a long way for Uddish, who started playing at four, under his first coaches Shehzad and Prashant, and the gateway was Cubs cricket, a school under-7 tournament his elder brother Tanish had first played at five and a half years.

“As soon as he gradually started playing more and more cricket, seeing him, I started to gain a passion towards the sport. I used to just wear his gears whenever I was free and I think the parents did see the interest in me. They're like, ‘Ok, maybe we can push him through academies and see where it goes.'

“Then eventually at the age of four, I got selected for the same tournament my brother played as well for the school. From there on, it was just training sessions regularly, and then I got fully immersed into the sport and today here I am,” he said.

The route to left-arm wrist-spin was something of a family negotiation. “My school coach Prashant sir wanted to make me a wicketkeeper. But my brother is a wicketkeeper as well. My parents were like, ‘Sir, just imagine both my sons, both wicketkeepers. The competition will eventually be between both of them.'

“Whereas my parents personally wanted me to be a fast bowler or a spinner. So they started with pace bowling. Then my coach is like, 'Okay, if not a keeper, don't make him a fast bowler because of the weather conditions in the UAE especially, work on his spin bowling and I think that's where my spin journey started. Then just caught on with the left arm chinaman.”

Now he looks up to two of the finest current exponents of the craft. For T20s, it is Noor Ahmad, whose use of pace and variations he admires. For the 50-over game, it is Kuldeep Yadav. “Coming to ODIs, I would look more at Kuldeep Yadav where his trajectory of the ball is very different compared to Noor Ahmed.

“That's where I would look up to Kuldeep Yadav in a 50-over game because I think that would probably create double things in the batsman's mind where I can use that as well to make the batsman think whether I should go charge on this ball or not.

“That one millisecond, if he gets late on the shot, I think I can just pick up a wicket. So I mean, depending on the format, I would look up to the bowler. Kuldeep Yadav and Noor Ahmed are my top picks in left-arm chinaman for sure.”

Tanish, the wicketkeeper and Uddish's elder brother, has played 13 ODIs and 14 T20Is for the UAE, and remains his younger brother's sounding board. The two speak almost every day, and before a training session here, Tanish, who has toured Oman before, briefed Uddish on the conditions he will encounter.

Those chats also cover what went wrong on the day, and life beyond cricket, but the nets are where Tanish is most hands-on with Uddish. “Even when we train together, when I bowl to him or when he gives me throwdowns, he always shows me, you can work on this part of your skill or you can just try bowling your googly a bit more quicker.

“So that can help me increase my pace, get more drift, and turn, which obviously helps me in my career as well. So I think my brother has a very big impact on my career as well.”

Behind both brothers are their steadfast parents. “I am grateful to have such parents. Since a very young age, they have been very supportive for both me and Tanish. I think without them, I wouldn't be or Tanish wouldn't be where he is or where I am at this point of stage where we are right now. I'm very grateful to God for having parents like them.

“They have sacrificed their social life, social events, and parties - all that just for us. They used to run behind just our matches, no matter how the weather was, especially in UAE, the conditions are very harsh during the summer. It touches about 50 degrees, but at under 16, and under 19, my mom and my dad always used to sit near the boundary ropes, no matter how hot it was.”

From the boundary, they would call out advice on avoiding the wrong shot, and their presence alone lifted the Suri brothers' confidence. Uddish's own schedule has hardly been lighter than theirs. With a family business to think of, Suri took science at school and is now studying mechanical engineering at a university.

His days split between five to six hours of study and the same hours are dedicated to training. In university, things have eased slightly, though he expects the course to get tougher. Competitive sports, he points out, comes with an expiry date.

“Obviously your qualification and academics are going to help you reach somewhere even better even after your sports are done. So I think balancing my academics is key here and I think I'm doing it very well and I will continue to do so.”

After the Asia Cup, Suri heads straight into the Abu Dhabi T10 league. First, though, come India, Nepal and Pakistan, and Suri, who's coming off playing Emirates D50 and D10 competitions, is unfazed.

“Honestly, we are looking for a good challenge. I mean, the entire team is from that. We're in a good group which consists of India and Pakistan, known to be one of the best Asian countries in youth cricket. But I think we have been training again from the past three and a half months in the UAE.”

“It's very important as a rising star, as youth cricket is a way you can set up your platform and get into the national side. Perform here, score and do well for the country. It is very exciting for me as well as my teammates to have an opportunity to play in this Asia Cup and do well for the team and the country.”

He thanked the Emirates Cricket Board for its facilities and head coach Naveed Ahmed, assistant coach Zahoor Khan and team manager Nael Tanveer for the groundwork. “They have put in their immense efforts and hard work. Again, the conditions in the UAE are very harsh. It was very hot, but we have trained immensely just for this.

“As a unit, we are very strong as well. Hopefully we can surprise everyone by beating both of the teams - at least one of them and qualifying for the semis and reaching somewhere.”

Last year, he manifested one big wicket of Sooryavanshi and made it happen. This time, he wants to manifest a surprise. Whether this year's vision comes true, time will tell soon.

Watch ACC Men's U19 Asia Cup 2026, starting November 5th from 10:30 AM, live and exclusive on Sony Sports Ten 5 SD & HD and Sony LIV.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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