Ravindra Jadeja 2.0? Harsh Dubey could be India’s next all-format weapon

For more than a decade and a half, Ravindra Jadeja has been the best security blanket for Indian cricket. At 37, he remains a multi-format monster, the kind of starting player who single-handedly balances the entire starting XI.

But logic dictates that the clock is ticking and the Indian team management is staring at a massive, existential headache: who will actually replace him?

For years, the plan for life after Jadeja seemed simple: Axar Patel. A similar clone down to the electric field and the sharp orthodox angles of the left arm. Axar was the natural heir, yet succession plans rarely survive the realities of form and time. Axar himself is now 32 and a largely forgettable Indian Premier League campaign has exposed the fragility of relying on a single contingency plan.

It turns out that the future needs to be built now.

Enter Harsh Dubey.

In a crucial move to test the true depth of the domestic circuit, the selectors called up the 23-year-old talent from Nagpur for both the one-off Test and the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan.

“I am very confident that he can fill Ravindra Jadeja’s shoes,” Usman Ghani, head coach of the Vidarbha senior cricket team, told India Today. “He did it for Vidarbha and he would definitely do it for India. What sets him apart is not just his skills but his mentality. He is incredibly strong mentally and he is proving it in different formats on the domestic circuit.”

PROGRESS

Ghani’s steadfast belief is rooted in hard data. When Vidarbha lost veteran Aditya Sarwate to Kerala in 2024, a massive vacuum opened up at the heart of their bowling attack. A young Dubey was cast in the role of the spear.

“He was asked to step into giant shoes and do a great job,” Ghani says.

This statement understates what was in fact a historic breakthrough. In the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy season, Dubey worked his way through the batting line-ups and took a staggering 69 wickets in just 10 matches. The catch broke the record for most wickets in a single Ranji season and remarkably placed him ahead of legendary figures like Bishan Singh Bedi, Jaydev Unadkat and Dodda Ganesh.

4 days to go #RanjiTrophy!

Last season, Vidarbha’s Harsh Dubey set a new benchmark by taking a record 69 wickets, including three deciders in the final, cementing his place in history.

With the arrival of a new season, relive the moment he made history. pic.twitter.com/JGMvZPPqtO— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) October 11, 2025

A classically orthodox left-arm spinner, Dubey relies on exceptional control, traditional flight and an innate ability to extract steep bounce and sharp turns from standard surfaces.

His bowling master class took Vidarbha to the Ranji final that year. Although they eventually faltered against home heavyweights Mumbai, Dubey refused to bow out quietly, posting defiant match figures of 3/62 and 5/144 in the final.

BLIND LIGHTS AND LARGE CELLARS

His rise through the ranks from the U14 level has been defined by this relentless upward trajectory. In 2025, the Indian Premier League took notice Sunrisers Hyderabad draft him as an injury replacement. Dubey didn’t even blink under the bright lights and trapped Mitchell Marsh on debut. In his very next outing, he outwitted the white ball chaser, Virat Kohli.

But to view Dubey as a one-dimensional, reactive bowler is to misunderstand his utility. Like Jadeja, he is a real dual threat.

During a crucial Ranji Trophy group match against Hyderabad this season, Vidarbha’s top order collapsed to a disastrous 70 for 7. When caught in a crunch, Dubey counter-attacked to save the team, dragging the total to 180. He finished the match with half-centuries in both innings alongside an eight-wicket haul.

This keen understanding of game situations and tactical maturity earned him Vidarbha’s white-ball captaincy for the 2025–26 season. The dividend was immediate: the 23-year-old guided his state to their first Vijay Hazare Trophy title, leading comprehensively with both bat and ball.

“Despite being a young captain, his discipline earned him the immediate respect of the seniors,” reflects Ghani. “He is a deep thinker who always wants to stay one step ahead of the opposition.

This is far from just an experimental whim to fill out a squad sheet; Dubey’s inclusion in the Indian squad represents a tactical insurance policy – a calculated look at the man who could inherit the crown when The legendary Indian all-rounders have finally hung up their boots.

“He never proclaimed out loud where he wanted to be, he just believed his time would come,” says Ghani. “I’ve never seen him bed down or complain about being picked on. His attitude is all about acting on the things he can control.”

BUILT ON SACRIFICE

Behind the tactical foresight and record-breaking statistics lies a narrative of deep family sacrifice.

To ensure that Dubey could fulfill his cricketing dream, his father resigned from a secure position in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Both parents worked demanding schedules and anchored their lives around his career, teaming up with the team to drop off and pick up young Harsh from grueling daily practices.

“Dubey wasn’t always the fittest; he was on the heavier side during his junior years. But he put in a huge amount of work to get to where he wanted to be. He’s a tough and highly determined guy,” added Ghani.

This awareness of what his family had given up shaped Dubey into an unusually determined athlete. With an international debut now on the horizon, the ultimate test awaits.

“I spoke to him after he got the India-A call-up and told him that this is just the beginning,” Ghani says with pride in his voice. “I couldn’t talk to him today because he was on his way to his next IPL game. But I congratulated his father, he was absolutely thrilled.”

Replicating the output of a generational cricketer like Ravindra Jadeja is an existential challenge, but Harsh Dubey has a precise plan to try.

– The end

Issued by:

Amar Panicker

Published on:

May 20, 2026 10:01 AM IST