MANCHESTER: It's not unusual for parents to go to any extent to make their children pursue sports of their choice. Story of Anshul Kamboj, India's latest Test debutant, is no different. Father Udham Singh, a middle-class farmer from Fazilpur, Haryana, not only travelled around 80km everyday for almost four years to make sure his son, who was on the heavier side, gets proper cricket training but also shifted his family to Karnal a few years later for the same reason.
Initially, Singh wanted Anshul to shed some weight and hence got him admitted to Rana Brother's Academy in Karnal when he was 11. But more than Anshul, it was a tiring task for his father. He had to wake up early in the morning to drop Anshul to the academy. "Anshul used to ride pillion with his father on a bike. They had to leave as early as 4AM to reach here by 5AM. Despite the difficult weather and long journey, the duo never got late," Satish Rana, Anshul's childhood coach, told this daily from Karnal.
Australian legend pacer Glenn McGrath was Anshul's role model and he always wanted to bowl like him with precision. "McGrath was his role model from the beginning. He always wanted to bowl like him. This made him what he is today. One thing that impressed me the most when he first came to my academy was his dedication. He was always ready for challenges and never got distracted. He was focussed on what he has to do in his life," added the coach, who has been receiving hundreds of calls as soon as Anshul's debut was confirmed ahead of the fourth Test between India and England at the Old Trafford Ground in Manchester on Wednesday.
Anshul has played 24 first-class matches claiming 79 wickets and scoring 486 runs with the highest of 51 not out so far. He has also played 25 List A and 30 T20 matches for Haryana. He made his IPL debut last year for Mumbai Indians and then shifted his base to Chennai this year. He was picked up by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 3 crore. He featured in eight matches taking eight wickets for the five-time champions in the 2025 edition. He also toured England with India A team, which played two matches against England Lions ahead of the five-match series. Anshul scalped five wickets in the two matches and scored 51 unbeaten, which is also his score in the FC, in the second match.
"After around four years, I urged Udham ji to shift to Karnal for the sake of Anshul's career and he didn't have a second thought before shifting the family here. The family relocated for Anshul, which itself says a lot about their dedication for his cricketing career. They rented a house here but continued farming in Fazilpur, which the father's journey continued from Karnal to his village for years," reminisced the coach.
The 24-year-old Anshul was at his academy when got a call from the India team management, who apparently were worried after injuries to pacers Arshdeep Singh and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Groin injury to Akash Deep, who played a key role in India's win at Edgbaston in the second Test, only added to their woes. Anshul, meanwhile, immediately boarded a flight for Manchester and joined the team ahead of its first practice session.
"When he got that call, I asked him to give his best. He is a confident lad as he has played alongside greats of the game in the IPL. Besides, he has been toiling for Haryana in domestic cricket for more than two years. In that sense, he is not new to pressure. But yes, making a Test debut is something else. It's a proud moment for his family, me and the state. Haryana Cricket Association played a big role in his growth as a player," signed off an elated coach.
With Kamboj now an India Test cricketer, coach Rana can sit and relax but not as he wants his ward to grind it out and repay the faith put on him by his family, coaches and Haryana.