Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin heaped praise on Harsh Dubey after Sunrisers Hyderabad registered a 57-run win against Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Monday.
Dubey returned with figures of 0-22 in two overs he bowled against the inaugural champions. Meanwhile, the 23-year-old spinner has scalped five wickets in as many matches at an economy rate of 8.66 in IPL 2026.
Ashwin revealed he took Dubey as a net bowler to Rajasthan Royals when he was part of the team and wanted the franchise to sign the youngster, but it wasn’t to be the case.
Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “I took him to RR as a net bowler for two years. Maybe I wanted RR to pick him, but it did not happen. But I am very happy for Harsh.”
The former Indian all-rounder added that the Vidarbha player is also handy with the bat.
He added, “Harsh Dubey deserves a lot of praise. He also has the ability to bat and has a good bat swing. He will just have to work a little on it. But the way he has been bowling, it is almost like a pro. He goes full and uses the yorker at the right time, pulls the length, and adjusts the field.
Ashwin praised Dubey for adjusting his length and field after he was pulled by Donovan Ferreira on Monday.
He added, “Donovan Ferreira hit a pull in this match. After that, he signaled something to Ishan and adjusted the field and his length. The next ball turned after pitching. This is pro-level bowling, and the kind of skill he has, I think, it’s only going to go up.”
On the other hand, the former CSK player praised Ishan Kishan’s decision to give up the gloves in order to talk to his bowlers. Salil Arora stood behind the wickets for SRH in place of Kishan.
“I loved the fact that he gave up the gloves and was on the field, trying to talk to the bowlers. Maybe SRH would have discussed that Ishan, the captain, needs to be with the bowlers because this is a bowling attack that’s very young,” he chimed in.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will next take on Chennai Super Kings at Hyderabad on Saturday.
