CHENNAI: "It was always a matter of when and not if." Talk to anyone in Indian cricketing circles about Manav Suthar in the last two years, this is the line one would hear. Manav's time has arrived as the senior selection committee on Tuesday named the left-arm spin bowling all-rounder from Rajasthan in the India squad for the lone Test against Afghanistan.
Understandably, Jagdish Suthar, Manav's father, was a happy man. Hoping and expecting that the dream would come true, the entire family was sitting in front of the television at their home in Sri Ganganagar, a small village in Rajasthan. "We had been waiting to see it on TV, then saw it on social media. We are very happy. Very proud of him," an emotional Jagdish told this The New Indian Express.
Manav's journey started at 11 when his cricket fanatic father — who works as a physical education teacher — saw his interest and signed him up in an academy near his hometown. His rapid strides over the decade that followed had one common theme — Manav's love for cricket and more importantly, bowling long spells day in and day out.
Known as someone who is quiet and unassuming, Manav can be relentless with the ball in hand. He can turn up day in and day out and deliver the red cherry on the same spot — a trait he developed at a very young age. Rajasthan head coach Anshu Jain remembers the conversation he had once whilst sharing a cup of coffee with the youngster. "When we were catching up over a coffee one day, he told me how even when he was playing in Sri Ganganagar district-level, he used to bowl long spells. He used to bowl 30-25 overs a day. (6:12) He enjoys bowling. He does not get tired. I think his muscle memory, his bowling fitness, developed because of that. He was never hesitant in bowling," Jain recalled.
One other instance for his love for bowling and contributing to the team happened in 2022-23. Jain was with the Rajasthan U23 team but Manav had already played Ranji Trophy. After Rajasthan's Ranji match against Services ended on January 27, 2023 in Jodhpur, Manav travelled to Jaipur the day after to turn up for the U23 team two days later. He then went on to help them beat Madhya Pradesh in the pre-quarters, taking 11 wickets in the match. "He never showed any hesitation that he was tired or needed rest. But if the team needed him, he used to come from Ranji Trophy. I remember that we played against MP in the pre-quarterfinals. He came to play when we did not qualify for Ranji Trophy. And he won us the pre-quarter finals single-handedly," Jain said.
Regarded as someone more suited to red-ball, in the classical mould, Manav was spotted not long after and soon he came up the ranks. One of the moves he made to explore and establish himself during the off-season was coming to Chennai and playing in the senior TNCA league. About a week after the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL), Manav, who played one match for Gujarat Titans, turned up for Grand Slam CC in the TNCA I Division Raja of Palayampatti Shield. In their very first match against Vijay CC, Manav took 8/67, giving immense confidence, not just to himself, but also to his teammates and coach Palani Amarnath. Those long spells in Chennai in the weeks that followed, along with a camp at the CoE with Sairaj Bahutule, meant Manav was reaping rewards in Duleep Trophy. An India A call-up followed where he took a fifer in Australia later that year. Such had been his rise in the last 18 months that Manav was soon named as Rajasthan skipper in both white-ball formats last season. Even in the ongoing IPL season, he has pipped R Sai Kishore as first-choice spinner for Gujarat Titans.
Even as he continues to deliver in white-ball, Manav's true love lies with the red cherry. His ability to land the ball in the same spot, generate drift, use angles has brought him all the accolades in the multi-day format. Jain believes Manav's repetition has brought him this far. "He has developed the feel of how to drift the ball, how to spin it, and how to vary the pace in different conditions. He even uses angles. Sometimes he bowls over the wicket, sometimes round the wicket. Repetition plays a role here. The more you bowl, the more you develop the idea, the more you develop the feel of where to drop the ball," he explained.
While there is no doubt that Manav has made a mark at a very young age, he has shown patience in waiting for a chance, be it with Titans or with India A. Now, with Harsh Dubey also in the mix, it remains to be seen if he gets to play against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh. However, one thing can be said with certainty. Whether he plays or not, this is just the beginning and Indian cricket could hear a lot more about Manav in the years to come.
