Chandigarh: Anmoljeet Singh has been on fast forward in the last 15 months. The promising off-spinner captured 65 wickets in the Vijay Merchant Trophy U-16 national tournament to help Punjab win the title. The Ludhiana youngster caught everyone’s attention for both his fluid action and a slender build that reminded many of Harbhajan Singh when he grabbed the national spotlight in the late 1990s.

He was selected to the Zonal Cricket Academy (ZCA) camps and the U16 High Performance Camp last season, and the U19 High Performance Camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru a few months ago. Besides working on his bowling, the focus was also on building strength as he gained 12 kg and added three inches to his height. The 17-year-old now stands at 6 feet 2 inches.

Included in the India U19 squad for the two four-day games against the Australia U19 team, to be played in Chennai (September 30-October 3 and October 7-10), the young spinner’s ability to flight and deceive batters in the air has impressed Ravneet Ricky, the Punjab U19 coach who had guided the Vijay Merchant Trophy team to success.

“It is not every season that one sees a spinner coming up and carving a niche for himself. His off-spin sets him apart and the way he has worked on components like fitness, learning new variations, execution of plans and adjusting to various formats, he has done a brilliant job. With his height and action, he is now able to give a strong push to a delivery and also extract turn. The Punjab association along with Harbhajan is keeping a close watch on this talent. He should do well in the India U19 matches,” Ricky said.

Watching him bowl in the U16 camps, fellow players nicknamed Anmoljeet “Bhajji”. The man whose nickname they had borrowed hasn’t seen the teenager bowl yet, but has heard about his talent. “I was just like him. I wish he plays good cricket, and hopefully for India soon. I will meet him and see how can I help him,” Harbhajan told HT.

“The national selectors were happy to see him taking 65 wickets because usually left-arm spinners take wickets (in domestic cricket). His U19 debut season also went well, he took 26 wickets in the U19 Cooch Behar Trophy for Punjab,” Ricky said.

Anmoljeet, who comes from Shimlapuri locality in Ludhiana, adolises Harbhajan and has spoken to him on phone. “I have picked up (bowling lessons) and learnt a lot after the Vijay Merchant Trophy experience. Getting a chance in the India U19 team is a big deal for me. The camp at NCA helped finetune my skills,” Anmoljeet said. His Vijay Merchant performance helped win the ‘Emerging Player’ award at the Naman Awards organised by Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Son of former club-level cricketer Balwinder Singh, the Anmoljeet started as a medium-pacer before switching to bowl spin. “I used to love watching Harbhajan’s videos and would copy his action… What has worked is my consistent training sessions since I started playing,” said the teenager who began his training at the Grewal Sports Academy in his hometown.

Anmoljeet’s dream is to be selected for the U-19 World Cup in 2026 and make his Ranji Trophy debut for Punjab.

“I am looking to do well against Australia in Chennai, but I also want to play for India in the next U19 World Cup also,” he said.

Read Also: Duleep Trophy: India’s young England series heroes brace for competitive season