Meet Australia's Ambidextrous Spinner Nivethan Radhakrishnan

Nivethan Radhakrishnan was a Delhi Capitals net bowler during the first phase of IPL 2021 this season.

Nivethan Radhakrishnan, who has been selected for the Australia U-19 squad, was a fast bowler to begin with. 

Image: IANS 

Once Australia announced their 15-member squad for the ICC Men's Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2022 beginning in the Caribbean on 14 January, among the names that resulted in a fair amount of curiosity was the ambidextrous cricketer Nivethan Radhakrishnan, who was a Delhi Capitals net bowler during the first phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season.

The 19-year-old Radhakrishnan, whose family migrated to Sydney from India in 2013, had rubbed shoulders with the likes of Ricky Ponting, Steve Smith and several top Indian cricketers during his stint in the glitzy IPL. He was offered a rookie contract by both NSW and Tasmania this season, but he decided to join the latter, according to 7news.

Father's Influence 

Radhakrishnan has previously represented Australia at the U-16 level. While speaking to ESPNcricinfo earlier this year, he said that it was his father Anbu Selvan, himself a former Tamil Nadu junior cricketer, who suggested that he try bowling with his left hand as well.

“Dad and I were having a little water break and I’m naturally right-handed and was just bowling my right-arm offies. “Dad just went: ‘why don’t you start bowling with the left hand?’ No one does it; we hadn’t seen anyone on TV do it when I was six in 2008. There was no one bowling with both hands on TV or in league cricket in Chennai. No one had heard of it back then. I was like: ‘well, why not?’ There’s no fear of failure in my game. If I don’t care what people think about me and don’t care about failing, what limit is there to what I can achieve?" Radhakrishnan was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Before becoming a spinner though he was a fast bowler in India in Chennai.

"Before I bowled spin, I used to bowl seam in Chennai. I used to bowl both seam and spin. If I was an aspiring fast bowler of Indian origin, I probably came to the wrong country. The kids three or four years younger than me here are six feet, so I can’t really compete bowling little leg-cutters on these decks and will probably get whacked," he said.

U-19 Squad 

The Australian squad includes Cooper Connolly, who has been selected for his second Under-19 World Cup, having been part of Australia's previous campaign in South Africa.

Seventeen-year-old Harkirat Bajwa will be hoping to replicate Connolly, having been picked as an underage player who will still be eligible for selection for the 2024 tournament.

Coached by Anthony Clark, Australia have been drawn alongside hosts West Indies, Scotland and Sri Lanka in Group D of the pool stage.

"Our squad includes players of all disciplines with experience in domestic cricket environments, and many have produced eye-catching performances across a variety of strong competitions this season," Clark said.

"The Under-19 World Cup provides players with an exceptional development opportunity and we look forward to seeing them represent their country with distinction."

Australia haven not won the men's U-19 World Cup since 2010, when Mitchell Marsh led the side that had the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson, who are now an integral part of the Australia national teams.

Australia's campaign begins on 14 January with a match against the hosts in Guyana.

Australia squad: Harkirat Bajwa, Aidan Cahill, Cooper Connolly, Joshua Garner, Isaac Higgins, Campbell Kellaway, Corey Miller, Jack Nisbet, Nivethan Radhakrishnan, William Salzmann, Lachlan Shaw, Jackson Sinfield, Tobias Snell, Tom Whitney, Teague Wyllie

Reserves: Liam Blackford, Liam Doddrell, Joel Davies, Sam Rahaley, Aubrey Stockdale.

(With IANS Inputs)