Who Is Saurabh Kumar - Standby In Indian Squad For Tour Of South Africa?

Indian team selectors have selected Saurabh Kumar as the stand by player for India's upcoming tour of South Africa, he is also part of the India 'A' which is touring South Africa at the moment. The first test will start on December 26 and even though Saurabh will be bowling in the nets, he can impress the Indian team and maybe they'll be able to acquire a player like ace all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. 

Saurabh has been selected for the team due to his excellent numbers in first-class cricket. He has registered 192 wickets in 44 games, averaging 23.44 with 16 five-wicket hauls and 6 10-wicket hauls. 12 of these 16 five-wicket hauls have come in the last two seasons of the Ranji Trophy. 

In the 2018/19 season, Saurabh picked up 51 wickets in 10 matches averaging 17.74 with 5 five-wicket hauls. He registered second-best bowling figures by a bowler from UP - 14/65. He was the highest wicket-taker of the season with 51 wickets. 

Saurabh is a spinner who can bat as well - the lower order batter has 2 centuries to his name in first-class cricket averaging just under 30. In his early seasons for UP, he smacked a hundred and stitched a partnership of 192 runs with Kuldeep Yadav to save the side from a collapse.