'He backs his yorkers': How Tushar Deshpande nailed the final over

MUMBAI: The praise coming for Tushar Deshpande from all quarters after he bowled a brilliant last over, displaying ice cool nerves while firing in superb yorkers and low full tosses to concede just four runs in the final over while taking a wicket, when Gujarat Titans needed 11, to fashion Rajasthan Royals' thrilling six-run win at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday night is well deserved, and also, much awaited.

For years, the Mumbai fast bowler has been toiling and performing decently well in domestic cricket, and in the IPL, without too much reward and recognition. Unlike many quick bowlers who become magically fit and available during the IPL, the 30-year-old 'Kalyan Express' believes in putting his heart and soul while bowling in all the domestic tournaments for Mumbai. In the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match at the MCA-BKC ground, Deshpande stood out in Mumbai’s six-wicket defeat, taking four for 33 and two for 67 while bowling lively spells.






From 2022-24, Deshpande enjoyed a successful stint at the Chennai Super Kings, while playing under the captaincy of the legendary MS Dhoni. Subsequently, Rajasthan Royals bought him for Rs 6.50 crores, but the seasoned pacer didn't enjoy a great IPL-2025, taking nine wickets in 10 matches at 37.27 at an economy rate of 10.62.

When rookie pacer Brijesh Sharma made his debut in RR's first match of IPL-2026 against Chennai Super Kings at Guwahati, one thought that RR had given a chance to the young fast bowler at the expense of Deshpande. However, TOI has learnt that Deshpande missed out in RR's opener because he suffered a freak injury at the last minute. "He suffered a freak foot injury just a few hours before the game, when a glass fell on his foot in his hotel room. This is why he was forced to miss that match," a source close to the developments informed.




An ankle injury which required surgery forced Deshpande to miss the 2024-25 domestic season. In the 2025-26 domestic season, he worked a fair bit with former India and Mumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, currently the Mumbai bowling coach. Kulkarni wasn't surprised with Deshpande's last over heroics. "He has got a very good yorker. He has good control over his yorker and can execute it well whenever he wants to, as we saw in the match yesterday. He backs his Yorkers in death overs. While bowling with the new ball, he has got an attacking mindset of taking wickets," Kulkarni told TOI on Sunday.

Describing how he asked Deshpande to stick to his core competency of bowling aggressively and going for wickets without bothering about conceding runs, Kulkarni said, "See, he's a seasoned fast bowler, and it was my first year as Mumbai's bowling coach. Obviously, he's experienced. He's played for so many years. It was clearly mentioned to him to take the ownership of your own plans and implement whatever skills he wanted to execute.

“Throughout the season, we backed him to just attack and go for his wickets. He's an attacking bowler who always wants to pick wickets. I’m a coach who will always back his bowlers. I knew that he had the potential to do well, even though it didn't reflect in the wickets column. He bowled well throughout the season," Kulkarni explained.

While has played just a couple of T20Is for India, back in July 2024, Deshpande has constantly been tracked by the national selectors. "He has got a good attitude and always puts in the hard yards. He has got good pace and bowls in the 140s consistently. He has performed well season after season. He should definitely be playing for India again. He has already played for India, and was later out due to injury,” felt Kulkarni, who played 12 ODIs and two T20Is for India and took 285 wickets in 96 first-class matches between 2008-24.

Former first-class pacer Pradeep Sunderam, who has worked with Deshpande at the Mumbai Cricket Association's BKC Academy, where he's a senior coach, asserted that bowling constantly at decent pace is indeed Deshpande’s core competency.

"His biggest strength is that he has pace. He can consistently bowl in the 140s. He has a sharp bouncer as well. Once, after he bowled 11 wides in a match in the IPL, a coach asked him to cut down on pace and focus on accuracy. I told him, 'Never cut down on your pace, as that will prove to be counterproductive for you. Pace is your biggest asset. If you lose your pace, you will be one amongst many and you will lose that special thing about your bowling.’ He should never compromise his pace for accuracy," said Sunderam.

"After the season is over, we will work on developing his variations. I have to work with both him and (Shivam) Dube for adding variations in his bowling. Another area in which Tushar needs to work on is his tendency to leak runs. He takes wickets, but tends to be a bit expensive at times. This happens because when he's bowling well, he tends to get carried away," Sunderam, who took all 10 wickets in an innings in a Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai against Vidarbha back in the 1985-86 season, added.

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