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Arjun Nair’s rapid rise represents the changing face of Australian cricket, with the 17-year-old keen to follow in the footsteps of Gurinder Sandhu and Usman Khawaja as an Australian player of South Asian origin.
He launched himself into Sydney’s first grade competition at the age of 15, then made the Australian under-19 team, and is now a development rookie on the Sydney Thunder squad.
During his three years playing the highly competitive Sydney under-16 Green Shield competition, the Parramatta junior accumulated five centuries, and this is where the NSW selectors and Sydney grade clubs realised he was a special talent.
His batting style is similar to Virender Sehwag, featuring a vast array of shots which doesn’t allow bowlers to settle.
Yet his main attribute as a cricketer now is his spin bowling, rather than the batting that dominated his initial cricketing years.
In the state under-19 final, shown above, he took six wickets. Nair’s variation in his deliveries and his deadly doosra have troubled the best underage batsmen all over the country. His brisk pace for a spinner makes it difficult for a batsmen to come down the wicket, and sweeping is always a risk against his main length.
Australia has traditionally embraced orthodox spinners, like Shane Warne and Nathan Lyon, with John Inveraity even claiming that teaching the doosra was a matter of ‘integrity’. Thus it is interesting to see the rise of an unconventional bowler in the Australian landscape.
Nair would do well to look at the career of Sri Lankan Ajantha Mendis, who initially dominated international cricket before his ‘mystery balls’ were solved, as batsmen suddenly realised playing him as a medium pacer was a lot more effective.
The challenge Nair faces is how he evolves once batsmen are familiar with his unorthodox and unique action. However Nair is capable of standing up to new challenges.
Nair’s record last year was 17 wickets at an average of 33 – good figures for a young spinner. Combining this with the potential of his batting, where he has improved considerably from last season, means Australian cricket has a real gem on hand.
Australian cricket fans would do well to keep an eye out for Arjun Nair, and the Sydney Thunder should give their development rookie a chance.
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