The 'Bat-Todu' Of Nagpur: Harsh Dubey's Journey, Told By His Parents

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A CISF officer, a teacher and a family-of-three's dream of fulfilling the ambitions of Nagpur's 'bat-todu batsman'. This is Harsh Dubey's story, narrated by his biggest believers.
Harsh Dubey's family is a cricket family.
Not because they have a lineage of athletes, somehow connected to the royals who played the sport from the pre-independence era. Instead, his father, Surendra, is a former Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer, while his mother, Jyoti, is a teacher.
Still, they breathe sport because Harsh sleeps with a bat and ball on his side.
Take an example from his under-13 days when Harsh was part of the Ruby Club of Nagpur and used to dream of batting on the centre wicket. The day he finally got the chance, his parents were there to support him.
'When a batsman got out, Harsh went in as a replacement at the non-striker's end," Surendra told News18-CricketNext in a video chat. 'The striker played a shot, it hit the bowler's hand and then the stumps, and Harsh got run out without facing a ball. The way he cried walking back to the pavilion… his whole face red, shrieking loudly as if somebody had stolen something valuable from him! Seeing that, even we couldn't hold back our tears! I still think about that sometimes, and the tears come back."
Harsh's rise, though not linear, has been stable. He starred in age-group cricket, known for his tireless bowling of dozens of overs and as a consistent wicket-taker.
He broke through the Vidarbha Ranji Trophy team last year and played an underrated role in the team's journey to the final, with both his traditional yet smart left-arm spin and dodged lower-order batting.
Not satisfied with either being underrated or runners-up, he owned up to the main spinner role after Aditya Sarwate left for Kerala in 2024-25. With 69 wickets, he broke the long-standing record of most wickets in a Ranji season and was declared the Player of the Series when Vidarbha beat Kerala to clinch the title.
Last month, he joined Sunrisers Hyderabad as a replacement player in IPL 2025 and went on to play three matches, picking five wickets. Most recently, he was part of the India 'A' tour of England and played the first first-class match against the Lions, leading the spin attack on a highway of a pitch in Northampton.
None of this success is just his own, and he knows it, too. His family has been there every step of the way — the stands of the Wankhede Stadium in the 2024 Ranji final against Mumbai to the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in the 2025 one versus Kerala, and the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium when he got Virat Kohli's wicket. They have been with him during the England sojourn, too, albeit virtually.
Having spoken to Harsh after his Ranji success, we reached out to Surendra and Jyoti in an attempt to get some more homely, off-field perspective into the cricketer's journey and how the duo — whose role will always remain underrated in front of the glamor of the sport — has facilitated it.
Edited Excerpts:
Jyoti Dubey: He has always said he wants to play for India. The fact that he's getting closer is a proud feeling.
Surendra Dubey: He was really good at studies, but also at sports. He was never too naughty, very sincere, and obedient.
Jyoti Dubey: He was always ready to play, especially cricket. His father liked cricket too, so both of them were always playing cricket.
Surendra Dubey: He has never troubled us. There's a corridor in front of our home, where I used to bowl to him, and he batted.
Jyoti Dubey: Even then, his shots were really good; his father would say he has that skill in his hands.
Question: I know Mrs. Dubey, you left your job in the middle, then Mr. Dubey took an early retirement from his job to support Harsh, too. Were those decisions easy?
Jyoti Dubey: He always had an interest in cricket, and we both thought we'd follow whatever he's interested in. I never thought about what if he doesn't make it in cricket. I don't know how, but we both knew it in our hearts that Harsh would definitely go far in it. Our morale has never been down. Right from under-13, he has been doing well in the Dungarpur Trophy, Vijay Merchant Trophy — it never felt like we'd get stuck in that or something would go wrong. When he was transferred, I had to drop out for two to three years. The only thing we had in our mind was helping him do what he was interested in.
Surendra Dubey: He was never stubborn about anything. If he wanted a bat, he'd ask for it. You know what the salary of a Central Government employee was at the time. So we would save the money and get it before he'd ask again. We never said no to him, but he was never too demanding of us either.
I was mad for cricket as a kid, so much so that I got hit a lot. Our family wasn't great financially at that time. There was one bread-winner and we were six brothers and six sisters. So you'd get smacked by sticks if you went to play. You know cricket is an expensive sport at every step. It was a coincidence. I don't think Harsh chose cricket, but instead cricket chose him.
He's so grounded that even today, if he shops for anything for himself, he asks, 'Mummy, I like this, should I buy?'
Jyoti Dubey: He did some shopping in London and showed us each and everything after trying. He's such an earnest kid.
Question: What would the coaches say about him in the early years?
Surendra Dubey: He took me to the Ruby Cricket Club himself and told me that I wanted to play cricket. After collecting the forms, we discussed everything. He was always an A+ in studies. He was very smart. We thought, let's see how long he maintains this interest, and enrolled him.
Das sir was overseeing the under-13 at that time. Parents used to ask about their kids when the coaches were heading home. One day I said, 'Sir, it's been so many months in your group, when would you play him in a match?' He only used to say 'Wait, wait a little'.
But maybe he saw something. Once, the senior left-arm spinner who was getting a lot of wickets got injured or went for a marriage or something. Then Harsh got a chance and took 8 wickets and scored 60+ runs as the opener. So his journey started. Das sir saw his batting skills and thought he could do it. Coaches would never talk much at the time; instead, you'd have to ask how he was doing!
Jyoti Dubey: There's a Bittu sir in VCA. It was under-16 at the time. I asked him how he plays. He told me to let him play because he was doing very well and would do better in the future. So I had some confidence that he would do well.
Surendra Dubey: The biggest sign was that Ranji Trophy players used to practice there, like Amit Paunikar and Sachin Katariya — Harsh wouldn't be home from school, and they would call him to bowl. He wouldn't eat one or two rotis and start, 'Mummy, let's go, let's go'. He got a lot of benefit from that, too, by bowling to good batters.
Jyoti Dubey: 2:30, he would come from school, 3, he would have to reach the club.
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Question: But batting was his real love?
Surendra Dubey: Honestly, I have never seen him do spot bowling, but I have seen him break a lot of bats.
Jyoti Dubey: In the club, they call him bat-todu batsman — the bat-breaker.
Surendra Dubey: Every 7-10 days, he would break a bat with his shots. He's mad for batting, even today.
Question: Mrs. Dubey, Harsh was chubby growing up but after he missed out on the under-19 World Cup he worked a lot on his fitness to get leaner and bowl more overs. You must have had a hard time seeing him not eat a lot of things?
Jyoti Dubey: That happens even now! I would tell him I am making this, he'd say 'No, I want a protein diet'. When he comes, our entire diet from breakfast, lunch, to dinner, everything changes. We also eat whatever he likes.
Surendra Dubey: Harsh's current coach, Usman Ghani sir was mentoring him in 2019 too. He'd specially call Harsh's mother and say, Itna bhi pyaar ka makkhan mat khilao! (Don't feed him so much butter of love!)
Jyoti Dubey: In our families, we use a lot of ghee. So, whether it's roti, paratha, whatever, it will have some ghee. So, now he takes ghee but less. Earlier, I used to make him whatever we were going to eat. But since he has started to focus on his diet, we have adjusted according to him!
Surendra Dubey: He has completely stopped taking sugar. But one thing is there: whenever he comes back after a while, the first thing he wants is his mother's daal-chawal. 'Don't make anything for me, mummy, just make daal-chawal'
Question: Every time you speak to Harsh, he's brimming with self-confidence and belief. He's so sure of his abilities and calls himself khadoos (stubborn) who can't bear losing. Where does that come from?
Surendra Dubey: It (Not wanting to lose) comes from his mother. Because even his mother has that attitude.
Moreover, he has a lot of friends, but only very few are close. Even today, he sleeps with bat and ball. He tries to prove himself the best among the best. And the biggest thing is he doesn't have the habit of sycophancy. He talks only to those with whom he can gel, or he's very happy to just revolve around his game. Cricket is his first love.
Jyoti Dubey: He is very career-oriented. His biggest passion is cricket. He's always thinking about the next thing to do to develop himself. His whole focus is on cricket. Wherever he finds a senior player, he goes and talks about his future. Even Virat Kohli met and asked him about the pitches in England, and how he can improve in batting and bowling there. That's all he thinks about.
Question: There's also a maturity that reflects in how he speaks about staying in the present, not thinking about the future and chasing success.
Surendra Dubey: That comes from his mother, too, and perhaps he's even ahead of her in that sense. He has had a lot of setbacks, too. He doesn't think I might get this, or that this tournament is coming up.
Jyoti Dubey: When you face a lot of setbacks early on, it makes you mature. That's what has happened. It's just that he knows whatever has to happen will happen and knows it's important to stay in the present. With him, even we have become the same — thinking whatever has to happen will happen on its own, and you should not wait but just stay in the present. It now applies to all three of us.
Surendra Dubey: For 2 years, we were very hopeful he'd get in the IPL, but it didn't happen — but then he got a mid-season call-up. Last year, he did so well that not only he but the entire Nagpur thought that he'd get into the Duleep trophy, but it didn't happen. A lot of such things have happened. Not just that, he must have learned a lot in the Ranji Trophy dressing room with the seniors, on how to deal with not getting the chances.
Jyoti Dubey: Even in the Ranji Trophy, he struggled a lot for the first two years.
Surendra Dubey: Till the time a man doesn't get hurt, he doesn't learn. It's just that he has had a lot to learn at a very young age! But, not every day could be yours.
Jyoti Dubey: Cricket is like that, it teaches you everything. There's a new challenge every day. Today, you might be the best, but you have to leave today and experience something new tomorrow.
Surendra Dubey: What's more, he also leaves cricket on the ground when he comes home. There's no discussion at home.
Jyoti Dubey: That's true. I will ask him to fold clothes and do chores. He will do everything. He is a cricketer, but outside our home. At home, we are very normal.
Surendra Dubey: For example, I ask him — I am very crazy about cricket, you know — why did you play that shot?' He'd say, 'Papa, it's done na. The match is done.' I'd say, 'But I want to know why you played that shot, you could've played straight as well!'. We do have our arguments sometimes!
Question: How was it watching him do so well in the IPL finally?
Surendra Dubey: We were there only! Before leaving, he looked at me and said, 'Papa, Virat ka wicket le raha hu' — Papa, I am taking Virat's wicket.
Jyoti Dubey: He does that, visualising the player whose wicket he wants to take.
Surendra Dubey: Maybe he'd have read Virat. He got a wicket off his first ball, but it got dropped — though that's the part of the game. The first ball of the next over, he was getting [Aiden] Markram's wicket, but that didn't happen either. He doesn't see whether it's Virat or Russell on the other end. That's the most important aspect of success. If it comes to your mind that Virat Kohli is against you — a lot of people can't even bowl in that pressure, honestly.
Jyoti Dubey: He is mature and understands a lot, but I have told him too that at the end it's just cricket, so maybe that helps too.
Surendra Dubey: He respects his seniors a lot. I told him once that Manav Sutthar is your competition. He said, 'Papa, he's absolutely doing well, and if he continues that, he'll get the opportunity and go to the next level, and he did really well last year.' He himself said this! Sometimes, you can get jealous inside… I have never seen that in Harsh ever. I have never seen him angry at someone for even taking his place or something like that. He only believes in his hard work.
There are a lot of players from Vidarbha playing in the IPL, and I don't think they could have been any happier for him. A lot of people, the entire Vidarbha, were sympathetic to him.
Jyoti Dubey: We got so many calls from a lot of parents, everyone was so happy for him, as if it were their own kid.
Surendra Dubey: Everyone knows that kid is down to earth. I am telling you that if you say a couple of words in anger to him, he won't even argue back. And which parent won't want their kid to fulfill their dreams, play 10-12 years for India? Even if there's another parent instead of me, they'd have the same dream.
Question: Harsh described the Ranji Trophy win quite beautifully. What were your feelings that day?
Surendra Dubey: I was looking for him, my tears were rolling unstoppably. Then there was a VCA official, he called Harsh, that your dad is desperate to see you. Then he came, and I cried so much suddenly. My kid's first Ranji Trophy, we lost the final last year.
Jyoti Dubey: And then that record of 69 wickets. All the things that we were waiting for so long happened together.
Surendra Dubey: It wasn't just the Ranji Trophy, under-19, under-25…
Jyoti Dubey: …he was the top wicket-taker everywhere. We knew he'd do well; he was just not getting the chances. This year, he got good chances and did really well.
Surendra Dubey: He was the first spinner after Aditya Sarwate left. He played a lot of full matches, and the captain and coaches trusted him, and he proved himself. He didn't disappoint anyone.
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Question: I know the answer to this but where do you wish for him to go from here?
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Surendra Dubey: This is all Lord Ganesha's meherbani. It's because of Him that we got Harsh. Whatever happens, He will take care of it. Harsh is putting in his work. His goal is to play for India. It's not in his hands; all he can do is work, and he'll do everything he can to get there.
Jyoti Dubey: Just that he plays for India, not for 1-2 years, but a full career. That's all I want. Play for India and play well.
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tags :
From the press box harsh dubey India A cricket team Indian cricket team sunrisers hyderabad Virat Kohli
Location :
New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
June 28, 2025, 15:00 IST
News cricket The 'Bat-Todu' Of Nagpur: Harsh Dubey's Journey, Told By His Parents