Indian spinner Digvijay Rathi dreams of bowling with the same aggressive flair as West Indies spin maestro Sunil Narine.
With long hair reminiscent of South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir and celebrations that mirror West Indies pacer Kesrick Williams, Rathi’s bowling run-up is where he truly resembles Narine. And in this IPL season, his bowling has been turning heads. The Lucknow Super Giants leg-spinner, now in the spotlight, credits his passion for bowling as the key to his recent success.
The 25-year-old first caught attention in the Delhi Premier League, where he took 14 wickets in 10 matches at an economy rate of 7.83 – the fourth-best in the tournament. Impressed by his performance, Lucknow picked him up at his base price of 30 lakh rupees during the mega auction last November.
Before the IPL even began, Rathi impressed in the Lucknow training camp and warm-up matches, earning him a spot in the playing XI from the start of the season. Since then, he has rewarded the team’s faith with consistent performances.
He was the match-winner against Mumbai Indians on Friday. Defending a total of 203 runs while his teammates leaked runs, Rathi stood out with a tight spell – conceding just 21 runs and picking up a wicket in his 4 overs.
So far in his debut IPL season, Rathi has played 4 matches and has gone over 8 runs per over only once. His overall economy rate stands at an impressive 7.62 with 6 wickets to his name.
After his match-winning performance against Mumbai, where he was named Player of the Match, Rathi said he wants to bowl with the same aggressive mindset as Narine:
“I fell in love with bowling after watching Sunil Narine bowl. My bowling style naturally leans toward attacking batsmen and getting them out. I want to be more aggressive like Sunil Narine. The way he stays calm under pressure—I’d love to emulate that.”
Rathi’s greatest weapon is his control over length. According to ESPNcricinfo stats, he has bowled 96 deliveries in the IPL so far, and 80 of them have been at a good length or slightly back of a length, conceding just 95 runs from those balls. He’s bowled only 3 short balls and 13 full-length deliveries.
Lucknow’s next match is against Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday—a game where Rathi will come face-to-face with his bowling idol, Narine. Head coach Justin Langer is especially excited for the clash:
“It’s going to be exciting. I can’t wait to watch it, because Kolkata has two spinners—Narine and Varun Chakravarthy—and both are his role models. The way he runs in to bowl—he looks just like Sunil Narine, doesn’t he?”
“And he’s always doing something different. He thinks deeply about the game, about how to get batsmen out. I think that’s why his future looks so bright.”
But not all of Rathi’s spotlight has been positive. His signature ‘notebook celebration’ hasn’t sat well with everyone. In fact, he’s even faced disciplinary action for it.
In the match against Punjab Kings, he celebrated by walking up to the batter and pretending to jot something down in a notebook. The stunt earned him a 25% fine of his match fee and a demerit point.
Did he tone it down afterward? Not quite. Against Mumbai, after dismissing Tilak Varma, he pulled out the same celebration again—this time resulting in a 50% fine and two demerit points.
