When Manav Suthar arrived at Gujarat Titans as a net bowler during the franchise's inaugural season, he was little more than a familiar name to Aashish Kapoor. The former India spinner had tracked him since his Under-19 days, but for much of the Titans setup, he was simply another young left-arm spinner helping the squad through a long IPL bubble.
That changed quickly. "The first day, second day that he came and bowled, everybody was his fan," Kapoor recalls in a chat with Cricbuzz.
Five years later, as Suthar marked his Test debut in Mullanpur with match figures of 7 for 62 and the Player of the Match award, including a 6 for 33 that ranked as the second-best return by an Indian in his debut innings after Narendra Hirwani, Kapoor found himself in a very different position from much of the cricketing world. While others were witnessing Suthar's arrival for the first time, he was watching the latest chapter of a story he had seen unfolding for years.
The former India spinner had first seen Suthar years earlier as an age-group selector, having selected him in the Indian Under-19 team. Both assistant coach Kapoor and head coach Ashish Nehra had watched him develop inside the Gujarat Titans setup from a net bowler into a member of the squad. And for more than a year, the pair had found themselves returning to the same conversation: how Suthar's bowling would translate to Test cricket.
They had the belief that Suthar would make an impact at the highest level, which was supported by a steadily growing body of work. Suthar arrived for his Test debut with 136 wickets from 30 First-Class matches, 34 more in List A cricket and 27 wickets from 10 India A appearances across formats. Earlier, he had also impressed at age-group level, picking up four wickets in his lone Under-19 Test and 10 wickets in three Under-19 one-day internationals.
So when the wickets came tumbling on debut, Kapoor's reaction was markedly different from the excitement that greeted it elsewhere. "No, I don't think so," Kapoor says when asked if the performance came as a surprise.
"Nehra and me, we keep talking. We've been discussing here for the last one year that Jadeja is there. But the day he goes and Manav comes in against the teams who are playing spin the way they play. And I mean, India played on some really horrible wickets in a few of the series. He said if Manav bowls on those wickets, he'll rip through.
"Even on good wickets, he's a bowler with the kind of action he has and with the kind of spin he imparts. On a good wicket also, he'll be a good bowler."
The confidence was born not from a handful of recent performances but from years of familiarity. Kapoor's association with Suthar stretches back to his days as a selector, when the left-arm spinner was coming through the ranks in Rajasthan cricket.
Suthar's entry into the Gujarat Titans ecosystem owed as much to circumstance as planning. During the franchise's inaugural season, operating within the constraints of a bio-bubble, the coaching staff needed net bowlers who could stay with the squad for the duration of the tournament. Another Rajasthan cricketer, Shubham Sharma, was initially in line for the opportunity, but repeated delays opened the door for Suthar.
"So I said to Nehra that let's call this Manav," Kapoor said. "He is also from Rajasthan. And then we called him. The first day, second day that he came and bowled, everybody was his fan. The way he bowled. And ever since, he's been with us. He was a net bowler for two years, I think. And then we picked him. For the last three years, he's been with us."
The phrase Kapoor uses repeatedly while discussing Suthar is not mystery, magic or potential. It is familiarity. The six-for in Mullanpur was not viewed inside those circles as a bolt from the blue. It was viewed as an outcome that had been years in the making. The reason, according to Kapoor, is visible every time Suthar lets go of the ball. The amount of spin he generates has long separated him from his peers.
"The kind of action he has and the kind of work he puts on the ball. So if other spinners are able to spin the ball a little, he'll spin a lot. If they're not able to spin at all, he'll spin a little bit. So he's always going to be a little bit ahead," says Kapoor.
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