Old-school Manav Suthar brings the thrill with control and deception

Manav Suthar is a name that may not instantly ring a bell just yet with followers of Indian cricket. But it's unlikely to remain that way for long. Just 20, Suthar is making waves for India A at the ACC Emerging Teams Cup in Sri Lanka.

A tall left-arm spinner, Suthar, who hails from Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, is a throwback to the pre-T20 era. Deceiving batters in the air and off the pitch gives him great thrill. He's able to do this because he's shown not just the ability to flight the ball, but also vary his lengths and pace. These skills have helped him pick big wickets.

That India A find themselves in the final is as much because of Suthar's left-arm orthodox as it is due to a rampaging batting line-up that waltzed into the semi-final, where they were given a reality check. At 137 for 7, a place in the final against Pakistan A seemed far-fetched. Suthar first chipped in with a handy 24-ball 21 to push India to 211, and then came into his own with the ball.

Bangladesh A were cruising at 94 for 1, before Suthar and Nishant Sindhu applied a perfect spin-choke at the R Premadasa Stadium. The pair picked up eight wickets between them, Suthar taking 3 for 32, to skittle Bangladesh A for 160 as India A stormed into the final on Sunday.

Going into that game against Pakistan A, Suthar is joint-second on the wicket-taker's charts this tournament, with nine wickets in four games at an average of 14.11 and economy of 3.40. In his previous game against them, Suthar had finished with 3 for 36 in an outstanding spell of flight and guile to set up India A's eight-wicket win.

Suthar's performances have highlighted the importance of such pathway tournaments for those who miss out on making the cut at the Under-19 levels, especially at youth World Cups. It's possible some players slip under the cracks; Suthar has drawn inspiration from that snub to take giant strides in short time.

So far, Suthar has an impressive 44 wickets in eight first-class matches for Rajasthan, with 39 of those coming in six games during the 2022-23 season. Suthar's compelling performances meant the side couldn't accommodate a second spinner in Ravi Bishnoi for much of the season. Bishnoi has since moved to Gujarat in search of more game time.

Vineet Saxena, a two-time Ranji Trophy winner with Rajasthan, first watched Suthar bowl during an off-season tournament in Ahmedabad last year. He was part of the reserves but got game time only because the regulars were resting. What Saxena saw of Suthar then impressed him to the extent that he was handed a T20 debut soon after.

"Last year we were playing a few practice games in Ahmedabad against Gujarat and Mumbai," Saxena tells ESPNcricinfo. "That's when I saw him bowl for the first time. I remember, when he came on for the first time against Mumbai, he was up against Shivam Dube.

"Now, left-arm batters generally prefer facing up to left-arm spinners in T20s, but in both the games we played against Mumbai, Dube couldn't hit Manav for a single boundary. In one of the games, he got him out too. The way he held his own against a big hitter like Dube was very impressive."

Suthar's T20 debut in October came against Madhya Pradesh in their opening game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s. Batting at No. 3, Venkatesh Iyer made a 31-ball 62. But according to Saxena, Suthar was the only bowler who managed to wrest a semblance of control.

"I think he bowled eight balls to Venky [Venkatesh Iyer] and conceded only at a run-a-ball. Venky was smacking the rest of the bowlers for fun. The big quality Manav has is the confidence he has to hold his own against quality batters. He is unfazed."

The quality he showed in the shorter formats forced Rajasthan to field him in the Ranji Trophy too, despite initially being in the reserves. "He's a learner," Saxena says. "With the ball, something always tends to happen when he has the ball in hand.

"He can get set batters out, an example of which you're seeing in the ongoing ACC tournament. The pace at which he bowls, he can be quicker through the air and when the ball turns and bounces at that pace, batters can struggle."

While bowling is his primary skill, Saxena believes he has the right temperament to be a quality batter too. In 13 first-class innings, Suthar has 267 runs with two half-centuries and a best of 96 not out. Shades of this batting ability was seen in the semi-final against Bangladesh A on Friday.

"He narrowly missed getting a hundred in the Ranji season," Saxena says. "He is always looking to contribute with the bat. Just before the Ranji season in a two-day game, he was out twice cutting. He was upset and we had a chat, gave him a few options and he adapted in no time. After that, in our first game against Goa, he scored 48 odd and went on to make two more fifties."

Earlier this year, Suthar was a net bowler with the Gujarat Titans at IPL 2023. While he's got his sights on becoming a regular, it isn't the only thing on his bucket list. For now, Suthar, according to his coaches and mentor, has just one thing on his mind. An opportunity to contribute in a big final and be part of a winning team.