‘Has the tools to be successful’ – Ashwin lauds Anshul Kamboj, sees potential place in 2027 World Cup squad for pacer

Veteran India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has publicly praised Anshul Kamboj, saying the right-arm medium pacer has the tools to succeed at international level and is positioning himself as a genuine candidate for India’s 2027 World Cup squad.

Ashwin shared his assessment in a two-paragraph post on X, drawing attention to the 25-year-old Haryana bowler’s recent displays in Indian colours. The comments came after Kamboj followed his Player-of-the-Match performance in the first ODI against New Zealand with an impressive opening spell in the second clash of the ongoing series on Saturday, November 07 at the Hnry Stadium, Wellington.

“Good conditions for bowling, but Kamboj continues to show that he has the tools to be successful at this level. He is definitely putting his hand up as India get into another World Cup year,” Ashwin wrote via his official X account, framing 2027 as a significant target for the pacer.

The timing of the post aligns closely with Kamboj’s performance in the first ODI of India’s series against New Zealand at Eden Park on November 4 2026. In that match, Kamboj returned figures of 2/22 from 10 overs, including 2 maidens, dismissing Mitchell Santner and having Nathan Smith caught by Virat Kohli. India won the match on DLS, recording their first ODI victory in New Zealand since 2019. Those figures stand as his best for India to date.

Kamboj had made his ODI debut only weeks earlier, on October 3 2026, in the third ODI against West Indies at Mullanpur, New Chandigarh, with India already 2-0 up in the series. Kohli presented him his cap on that occasion.

Kamboj’s rise through domestic and franchise cricket

The pacer’s international journey began at Test level. He made his debut for India in the fourth Test against England in the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy on July 23 2025, with Ben Duckett becoming his first Test wicket. Before international cricket, Kamboj had already made a mark in domestic and franchise formats. He is the third bowler in Ranji Trophy history to take all ten wickets in a single innings, a feat that underlined his ability with the red ball.

Among his earlier domestic highlights, Kamboj was the leading wicket-taker and Player of the Series in the 2024-25 Duleep Trophy, claiming 16 wickets in 5 innings for India C with a best of 8/69 against India B, a haul that surpassed his previous first-class best of three wickets in an innings across 14 prior games. He also contributed two wickets in the final as Haryana claimed their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy title against Rajasthan. Kamboj made his IPL debut in 2024 with Mumbai Indians, taking 8 wickets in 8 games at an economy of 8.00.