Meet Ishan Sood: India’s U19 pacer taught by his father, YouTube and ChatGPT

For six to nine months, Ishan Sood bowled one delivery. Good length, pointed to top off stump, same ball again, with a single cricket ball for company. He and his father Dheeraj practiced nothing else.

That patience is now showing at the Under-19 Asia Cup, where the 17-year-old from Morinda, Punjab has emerged as one of the most exciting young players to watch. At 6ft 4in, Ishan has the kind of frame to make a fast bowler stand out before even hitting the ball. Eight goals in three games tells part of the story. How he took them will tell the rest.

Ishan Sood breaks Nepal U19’s top order with three wickets! Watch #INDvNEP in #DPWorldMensU19AsiaCup2026 LIVE NOW on Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV TV channels. #SonySportsNetwork #SonyLIV Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) November 6, 2026

Against Nepal, he bowled 10 overs, including four maidens, conceding just 18 runs for three wickets. Against Pakistan, he came with a disciplined 1 for 36 in nine overs. He produced the best figures of the three against the UAE: four wickets for 37 runs in seven overs.

It’s the control that catches the eye, more so than height or bounce. He keeps coming back to the corridor of uncertainty, targeting the top of the stumps and forcing the batsmen to play. He can throw the ball both ways. Bowling from a wide angle to the right-hander, he can also straighten it after the pitch, which beats most batsmen at will. There is also a useful yorker. There is already a lot of work to do for the young fast bowler.

Social media started comparing him to Ishant Sharma: the height, the lanky frame, the ball that straightens after being pitched. It’s an early comparison and Ishan has a long way to go. But how it got here is a more unusual story. Is Ishan the new Ishant? (Photo: Instagram)

There is no elaborate coaching set-up and no permanent specialist to oversee every aspect of his bowling. For years it was largely a two-man operation, Ishan and his father. Their classroom has been the cricket field, but also YouTube, Google, social media and more recently ChatGPT.

They watch, research, exchange videos and talk about it. A particular delivery catches their attention and they work out how it is pitched, when it can be used and whether it might suit Ishan. Sometimes it’s a variation on bowling. Other times it may be a gym workout, a nutritional requirement, or a technical adjustment.

“We rely a lot on social media, YouTube, Google and ChatGPT. We research things and discuss them with each other. We share videos, point out what a particular bowler is doing and work out what we need to learn or practice,” Dheeraj tells IndiaToday.in.

This is not the case of watching a fast bowler on screen and copying his action. Father and son spend time understanding why the delivery works, where it should be bowled and how it can fit into Ishan’s game. The back slower ball was one that was learned in exactly this way.

“We research almost everything from nutrition and gym training to bowling techniques. Whatever we need to learn, we look it up on social media and study it in detail. We try to understand every aspect of his development,” says Dheeraj. Ishan Sood with his father Dheeraj. (Photo: Special arrangement)

For a father who himself played cricket at club level, it became close to a full-time job. Dheeraj was quick to watch and grew to admire Allan Donald and Glenn McGrath. He never advanced to the state level, which he attributes in part to the lack of athletic support available in his playing days. He wanted his sons to have a different experience.

His elder son also wanted to become a cricketer, but injury cut short that ambition. He was sent elsewhere for training and the failure changed the family’s plans. With Ishan, Dheeraj decided to take it upon himself. There would be no permanent coach. He accompanied his younger son to practice and oversee his development.

It came at a cost. When Ishan was around 13, Dheeraj sold his clothing showroom to devote more time and resources to his son’s cricket.

“I didn’t know beforehand that he would become a good fast bowler. I knew I would!” Dheeraj says with a laugh.

His own cricketing ambitions did not go as far as he would have liked. His elder son’s journey ended prematurely. Ishan gets every opportunity the family can give him.

NINE MONTHS, ONE DELIVERY

The training was built on repetition rather than variety. For months, father and son worked on a single delivery: a good length, aimed at the top of the off-stump. The idea was to make Ishan so comfortable that he would bowl again and again that he would never lose line or length.

“We spent a long time working on one thing: bowling a good length, targeting the top outside the off-stump. We spent six to nine months concentrating on this delivery, using only one ball,” says Dheeraj.

It was only after Ishan mastered that length that they moved on to develop movement in both directions.

“He already had a natural swing and seam movement. Once he mastered that length, we worked on bringing the ball in and out from the same spot. We spent the next eight or nine months doing that. We didn’t practice anything else during that period.”

Yorkers came later and took much less time. Dheeraj was surprised at how quickly his son picked up the parcel.

“Then we moved on to yorkers. We practiced them for 10 to 15 days and within 16 days he became very good at bowling. He is a very quick learner.”

The emphasis on one length and movement from the same spot is now visible in Ishan’s bowling. His height helps him get the rebound, but he doesn’t just try to rush the pace. He wants them to commit to the shot and then he makes the ball do something else. Ishan Sood adores Glenn McGrath. (Photo: Instagram)

IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS IN THE 17

The age group record indicates that the method worked. In the 2024–25 Vijay Merchant Trophy, where he played under-16 cricket, Ishan took 28 wickets in seven matches. He averaged 17.64, conceded just 2.36 runs against and bowled 68 maidens in 1,003 deliveries.

He carried that form into the Under-19 Vinoo Mankad Trophy. Last year, he took 20 wickets in eight matches and finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, with Punjab reaching the final. This year, Punjab went a step further. Ishan played a key role in helping them to victory, taking four wickets against Mumbai in the final in Indore in October.

His performances brought opportunities for the India Under-19 team, including the Challenger Trophy and the triangular series. Missing out on the previous cycle of the Asian Cup and the World Cup was a setback. He returned to the Indian squad via the tour of Sri Lanka in June–July, where he played two matches, and participated in the Under-19 High Performance Camp at the Center of Excellence in Bengaluru.

He also had the opportunity to work with former India fast bowler VRV Singh, India’s under-19 bowling coach. Ishan says Singh’s support and time spent working with him was valuable.

“Our bowling coach VRV Singh is supporting me a lot. We had two sessions which helped me a lot,” Ishan said during the tournament.

The confidence from Punjab’s Vinoo Mankad Trophy triumph carried over to the Asia Cup. When asked about the impact of winning the Under-19 tournament, Ishan acknowledged its importance.

“Yes, winning the Under-19 tournament will help you with your confidence,” he said.

Another family member helped keep the trip on course. Older brother Ishan, now 21, has taken over much of the responsibility of running the family travel agency. She also helps with household chores and often accompanies Ishan to gym sessions, physical therapy and bowling. Ishan Sood has impressed in age group cricket. (Photo: Instagram)

MATURE, QUICK LEARNER

Ishan also noticed outside the family, the center of excellence and the selectors. In Punjab, Sandeep Sawal, coach of Amritsar Soormas in the inaugural Sher-e-Punjab T20 league, had watched Ishan over the years in state-level tournaments and liked what he saw: a tall fast bowler who already understood his craft.

When the league auction came, Ishan was injured. Sawal supported the young man anyway. The opportunity that followed allowed Ishan to spend time in Soormas with the likes of Abhishek Sharma and Naman Dhir.

Sawal has followed Ishan’s development since then and believes there is more to him than just physical attributes. What impresses him the most is the youngster’s ability to read conditions and make adjustments.

“He understands line and length and knows what to aim for in different situations. He reads the pitch well. Even on slower surfaces, he knows when to use cutters. He understands pitch positioning and has a good sense of the game,” Sawal told IndiaToday.in.

Sawal likes what he has seen of Ishan’s bowling, but believes the youngster still has work to do on the physical side.

“He needs to keep playing, build muscle and improve his fitness. There is also scope to work on his bowling action and increase his pace,” he says. Ishan needs to work on his physical strength, feels one of his coaches. (Photo: Instagram)

Even now, Dheeraj remains closely involved in Ishan’s training. They continue to watch videos, discuss bowling techniques and look for ways to improve. The routine that started in Morinda hasn’t changed much even after Ishan moved to the Indian Under-19 team.

Dheeraj’s ambitions for his son are not limited to limited-overs cricket either. If anything, he says, Ishan is drawn to the longest format.

“The real joy of cricket is watching Test matches. True cricket lovers enjoy Test cricket and Ishan loves to play it,” he says.

The boy Dheeraj took to the nets in Morinda is now troubling batsmen in the Under-19 Asia Cup.

– The end