New Delhi: The distance between Anshul Kamboj’s village Fazilpur in Karnal and Neeraj Chopra’s village Khandra in Panipat is approximately 60 kilometre, but there’s a similarity in their journeys. For Neeraj, it was his uncle, Bhim Chopra, who took him to the ground so that he could lose weight. In Anushl’s case, it was his father who introduced him to cricket with the same objective.While Neeraj has arguably become India’s greatest athlete of all-time — an Olympic champion, a world champion, and most recently, he breached the psychological 90m mark in javelin. Kamboj’s journey has been a bit different. He’s taken the long road to earn this Test cap. In cricketing jargon, he has not just knocked on the door. He’s hammered it down with performances in domestic cricket.

Anshul’s father, Udham Singh – who has had several episodes of epilepsy over the past decade – can’t wait to see his son bowling for India at Old Trafford. “It all started with me wanting him to lose some weight. I had specifically asked Satish Rana (Kamboj’s childhood coach) to make him bowl,” Udham Singh tells TimesofIndia.com.”He was overweight and I just wanted to get him back in shape. I never thought he would end up playing for India. But the day I took him to the academy, he got hooked on the game, and it became his life,” he said with a laugh.Anshul’s younger brother, Sanyam Kamboj, a third-year B Com student, says he couldn’t meet his brother before he left for England, but the news has brought immense joy to the family.

“I’ve never seen my father smile or laugh like this. His illness had wiped the smile off his face. Since the day the call came, he is unable to control his excitement,” says Sanyam.”I couldn’t (go) see him off. The day he left for Manchester, our mother was hospitalised. She had a kidney stone procedure, and we had booked an appointment beforehand. I felt bad but once he’s back, the Kamboj family will certainly celebrate.”Kamboj was drafted into the Indian squad for the fourth Test against England after injuries to all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and the pace duo of Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh last week.He was part of the India A squad to face England Lions before the start of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. In an attack that featured Test cricketers Mukesh Kumar and Harshit Rana, Kamboj stood out with his exhibition of seam bowling. However, he didn’t get picked, and Harshit was retained as an injury cover for the first Test.Kamboj quietly returned to Karnal, doing what he does best.”He came back, and the very next morning, he was at the academy. He had brought a few Dukes balls with him and started bowling to a single stump,” says coach Satish Rana.Rana feared the rejection might have left Anshul dejected. “I asked him, ‘Sab theek?’ (All well?). He politely replied, ‘Sir, I am hopeful.’ He stayed optimistic — and look at him now. This boy is a perfect example of hard work, dedication, and discipline,” says a proud coach.Anshul caught everyone’s attention when he took 17 wickets in 10 matches and helped Haryana lift the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2023. That performance caught IPL scouts’ eyes, and he earned a contract with Mumbai Indians, playing three matches in IPL 2024.

But it was a historic performance in the Ranji Trophy that truly made heads turn. He became only the third bowler – after Bengal’s Premangsu Chatterjee (1956-57) and Rajasthan’s Pradeep Sundaram (1985-86) – to take all 10 wickets in an innings. His spell, against Kerala, read: 30.1-9-49-10.”It was a watershed moment in his career. It opened doors for him and gave him the confidence that he belongs at this level,” says Rana.Anshul had dedicated that feat to his ailing father, who stood like a rock when the seamer suffered an injury right before the 2020 U-19 World Cup and missed the bus.”That was the only time I saw him in tears. He wanted to quit cricket. It was Udham Singh ji who asked him to keep going, because he knew his son’s potential,” Rana recalls.“Udham ji told him, ‘Beta, bas tappa pakad ke daalta reh’ (Son, just keep hitting the right length),” adds Rana.And that’s exactly what Anshul has done since — he never let go of his tappa. During his stint with CSK, it was his length that impressed everyone.CSK coach Stephen Fleming said Kamboj certainly seemed to hit the bat harder with his heavy balls. “He’s deceptive. The ball hits the gloves harder than the speed gun suggests. His strength is his length, and he gets the ball to wobble,” Fleming said after a CSK game against Rajasthan Royals in New Delhi.On similar lines, CSK captain MS Dhoni said: “Kamboj doesn’t get swing, but he gets seam movement. The ball hits you harder than the speed gun shows.”Former India off-spinner R Ashwin, who saw Kamboj up close at CSK, went a step further. He said Anshul belongs to the rare breed of bowlers like Zaheer Khan and Jasprit Bumrah, not just skilful, but smart and tactically sharp.”The appreciable thing about Anshul is that he understands plans. I’ve seen many fast bowlers who, when asked about their plan, say they just want to express themselves or enjoy the game,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel “Ash Ki Baat.””But Anshul understands plans and knows how to execute them in the middle. That’s not a trait many possess. Zaheer Khan had it. In recent times, Jassi (Bumrah) has it. Anshul belongs to that category. I’m not comparing skills, but his length is very good, his wrist position upright, and his seam never drops,” added Ashwin.Amarjeet Kaypee, Haryana’s Ranji coach for the past two seasons, echoes Ashwin’s thoughts. “He’s a brainy kid. Very intelligent. A soft-spoken boy. He knows exactly what he’s doing,” says the former domestic cricket stalwart.Kaypee adds that Anshul’s ability to bowl long spells will help in England. “He has a very simple action and never hesitates to bowl long spells. That’s a big asset in England,” he says.When he steps out at Old Trafford on Wednesday, there will be nerves. But Anshul Kamboj can take inspiration from his fellow Haryanvi, Neeraj Chopra, who stayed cool as ice while hurling India’s golden javelin into history at the Tokyo Olympics.