From Batter to Mystery Spinner: Shivang Kumar’s Incredible Journey

Success and failure are both temporary in cricket. Shivang Kumar understood this very early in his career. Today, he is playing in the IPL 2026 under the bright lights, but his journey till here was full of risks, doubts, and hard work.

Shivang is one of the most unique players in the IPL right now. He is the only player in the tournament who bowls left-arm wrist spin and can also bat well. Before becoming a spinner, he was actually known as a top-order batter for Madhya Pradesh in age-group cricket. He even started his cricket journey as a left-arm finger spinner.

His coach, Mirza Danish Alam from MPS Academy in Moradabad, remembers Shivang as a talented batter with quick hands and strong timing. But despite scoring runs regularly, opportunities at the Under-23 level slowly reduced. Shivang then realised that only batting would not be enough for him to move ahead in cricket.

That was the moment when he decided to change his game completely.

The Idea That Changed Everything

Shivang noticed something very interesting while watching cricket. Teams usually avoid using left-arm finger spinners against left-handed batters because the ball comes into them naturally. He felt batters were too comfortable against this style.

So he started thinking differently.

He first wanted to develop a carrom ball that could move away from left-handers. Slowly, this idea became bigger, and he started learning left-arm wrist spin, also called chinaman bowling.

The idea looked smart on paper because left-arm wrist spinners are extremely rare in cricket. But learning it was very difficult.

Shivang had to completely retrain his mind and bowling action. Wrist spin is one of the toughest skills in cricket because controlling the ball is not easy.

Still, he kept going.

“It Became an Obsession”

While playing Under-23 cricket, Shivang started getting support from people around him. They felt his wrist spin had potential. That gave him confidence.

At just 23 years old, Shivang already understood modern T20 cricket very well. He believed today’s cricket is all about variations because pitches do not help bowlers much anymore.

According to him, bowlers need either mystery or a special skill like Ravindra Jadeja. Shivang chose mystery.

Soon, improving wrist spin became an obsession for him.

He wanted to master it as quickly as possible so he could become different from other cricketers. He believed that a batter who can also bowl quality left-arm wrist spin is a very rare combination.

Even if he bowled full tosses or got hit for six sixes, he had already decided he would not stop.

That strong mindset helped him continue

Family Support Changed His Career

One of the biggest reasons behind Shivang’s success was his family support.

His father, Praveen Kumar, was also a domestic cricketer and always backed his decisions. Once the family decided something, their thinking was simple — “Bas karna hai” (just do it).

Shivang also took inspiration from players like Piyush Chawla, Rashid Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Noor Ahmad and Varun Chakravarthy.

He spent hours watching their bowling videos on YouTube and studying their patterns.

That learning helped him understand one important thing — modern T20 bowlers must bowl quicker to give less time to batters.

Four Hours of Practice Every Day

Shivang’s hard work was unbelievable.

Every day at the MPS Academy, he practiced wrist spin for four hours. Two hours in the morning and two in the evening.

At first, things did not go well.

He mostly bowled full tosses and struggled with control. Many people doubted him. Some captains even asked him not to bowl chinaman because they were scared he would leak runs.

But Shivang kept trying.

Sometimes he bowled one ball of finger spin and the next five as wrist spin just to build confidence in match situations.

Slowly, the improvement started showing.

The Turning Point

In 2023, Shivang played an academy tournament called the Sadbhavna Cup in Amroha. During one match, he asked his coach for an over to bowl wrist spin.

His coach was nervous because he still did not fully trust Shivang’s new bowling style.

The first over went well. The second was expensive. The third improved again.

After that match, the coach asked Shivang if he seriously wanted to continue bowling only chinaman. Shivang confidently said yes.

That confidence slowly changed everyone’s thinking around him.

IPL Dream Finally Became Reality

Shivang’s career changed again during the Madhya Pradesh T20 League in 2025. There, captain Arshad Khan and coach Sanjay Pandey gave him full support and freedom.

That backing helped him grow quickly.

Although he missed the trials for Sunrisers Hyderabad, the franchise still bought him for INR 30 lakh in the IPL auction.

So far in IPL 2026, SRH has trusted him in 9 out of 11 matches, and Shivang has already taken 8 wickets.

Interestingly, even though he developed wrist spin mainly to trouble left-handers, most of his wickets this season have been right-handed batters dismissed through googlies.

A Journey That Can Inspire Many

Today, Shivang Kumar’s success is proof that taking risks can change careers.

Three years ago, many people laughed at his decision to switch from finger spin to wrist spin. Now, he is one of the most unique players in the IPL.

His journey also changed the thinking of his coach, who now believes young cricketers should be allowed to try different ideas freely.

Shivang trusted his skill, stayed patient, and kept working every single day.

That obsession finally helped him find his place in the IPL.

                                               

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