Lucknow-born right-arm leg-spinning allrounder Zeeshan Ansari finally made his long-awaited IPL debut for Hyderabad-based franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) against Delhi Capitals in their encounter at Visakhapatnam’s Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
The 25-year-old was included in the playing XI by SRH skipper Pat Cummins in place of pacer Simarjeet Singh. Ansari had an instant impact, picking up his first wickets in the IPL to get rid of the seasoned Faf du Plessis, KL Rahul, and the destructive Jake Fraser-McGurk.
Cummins won the toss and chose to bat first against Axar Patel & Co. However, SRH had a tough time with the bat. Delhi’s bowling attack was too strong, causing Hyderabad’s top order to collapse under pressure as they struggled to handle the onslaught from the Capitals’ bowlers.
The much-hyped batting order that had been explosive in earlier matches succumbed to a well-disciplined bowling attack, and the team was helpless against the early losses.
Zeeshan Ansari’s Journey:
While Ansari has not much experience in T20 cricket, he has been in the radar for some time now. He has played only one T20 game for Uttar Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he remained wicketless, giving away 32 runs. But his cricketing career started a bit earlier, as he was included in India’s team for the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, where the team was runner-up. Ansari played two games, scoring 35 runs.
In contrast to most of his contemporaries from the U-19 team, Zeeshan’s progression did not stick to the normal age-group cricket route. He was not picked for Uttar Pradesh’s under-14 or under-16 sides, and this made his family have second thoughts about his cricketing future. Hailing from a 19-member joint family in Lucknow, his father was not keen on his cricket ambitions at first but would rather that he helped financially.
Ansari’s breakthrough came in the UP T20 League, where he played for the Meerut Mavericks. His impressive performances saw him finish as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets.
This standout achievement earned him a ₹40 lakh contract with SRH in the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, held in Jeddah in November 2024. Alongside his T20 exploits, Ansari has also represented Uttar Pradesh in five First-Class matches, taking 17 wickets.
