And with it came a completely different possibility. For a young man who had arrived late to leather-ball cricket, DPL became the stage on which his raw pace, athleticism and appetite for fast bowling could finally be seen.

The numbers followed. “I have seen some substantial progress in my cricket in recent months and in this tournament.

So in the coming times, I might shift my whole focus to cricket and give it my all,” he says. The boy who skated before he bowledAnshuman is 25 and, in cricketing terminology, he can be called a late bloomer.

But the most unusual thing about Anshuman's story is perhaps where it began. Not with a cricket academy.

Not with a junior tournament. Not with a childhood obsession with bowling.

With roller skates. Anshuman Hooda has graduated from DTU with a degree in Production and Industrial Engineering in 2023.

(Special Arrangement) Growing up, Anshuman was a national-level roller skater. Cricket existed around him, but it was not initially the sport that defined him.

His elder brother Vikram had played cricket, and there was, as Anshuman puts it, a familiar sibling dynamic. His brother took science.

He took science. His brother studied engineering.

He studied engineering. But when it came to cricket, Anshuman's journey took its own route.

“I just started playing in college, and that’s when I got into leather-ball cricket professionally, playing for the college team and all. That’s when I fell in love with bowling fast, getting wickets and the aggression that comes with it.

I just loved bowling fast.” I worked on his mind 80-85 per cent.

I made him mentally strong. I told him never to think that he was tired or burdened.

Once I worked on his mindset and the roadmap was clear in front of him, he knew what he had to do. Harish Dagar | Anshuman Hooda's coachWhen cricket had to fit around a careerThat love became the starting point of something neither his résumé nor his previous sporting journey could have predicted.

Harish Dagar first noticed Anshuman in 2019 while they were at university. What caught his eye was not a polished fast bowler.

It was the physical package. Fitness.

Arm speed. Natural movement.

Anshuman was playing tennis-ball cricket when Dagar asked him to try medium pace. The first attempts were raw and erratic, but there was enough pace and athletic ability for the coach to believe there was something worth developing.

Anshuman Hooda with his coach Harish Dagar (Special Arrangement)“His body alignment was natural. His strength was natural, and his pace was natural.

But he didn't have enough strength in his body initially. “He was also busy with his job.

He couldn't always take proper sessions. He would come at night, then have to go to the gym and take practice sessions.

“I worked on his mind 80-85 per cent. I made him mentally strong.

“Once I worked on his mindset and the roadmap was clear in front of him, he knew what he had to do. At one point he had to focus on fitness, at another he had to do his job, and then he had to come to me for his sessions."

Fast bowling is not a very comfortable activity for the body. You accelerate, then your whole body has to absorb the impact before you bowl.

It definitely takes a toll on the body. Anshuman HoodaAnshuman graduated from DTU with a degree in Production and Industrial Engineering and joined a multinational company in 2023.

He worked from home, which helped him juggle the demands of employment and an increasingly serious cricket career. But balancing the two was never going to be easy.

Fast bowling is an unforgiving craft. It demands strength, recovery, repetition and hours of training.

Dagar's approach was to build Anshuman patiently, focusing not merely on speed but on the physical and mental foundations that could allow him to bowl fast consistently. Anshuman also had to understand his own body.

“Fast bowling is not a very comfortable activity for the body. You accelerate, then your whole body has to absorb the impact before you bowl.

It definitely takes a toll on the body,” he says. Anshuman Hooda appeals for a wicket during the Delhi Premier League.

(Special Arrangement) But there was no great mystery behind his motivation. He adds: “It was just the love for the sport and the love for bowling fast that kept me motivated and helped me come back stronger every time.”

That attitude has been central to his development. The making of a fast bowlerDagar describes the next stage of the process in more professional terms: periodisation, rest, strength work, workload scheduling, diet, physiotherapy and technical skills.

Anshuman had to develop a stock ball and variations such as the leg-cutter and off-cutter while ensuring that his body could cope with the demands of pace. Shikhar Dhawan himself, the team owner, surprised me.

He came and we had a little conversation. He gave me some very good tips and a direction to work towards from here.

Anshuman HoodaThe objective was never simply to produce a fast delivery. It was to produce a fast bowler.

In 2024, he got his opportunity with South Delhi, initially finding chances hard to come by. Then came a spell that changed perceptions.

The next season brought more opportunities, including a five-wicket haul, and soon IPL franchises were looking at him as a net bowler and trial candidate. The journey from someone contemplating quitting cricket to someone attracting franchise attention had happened remarkably quickly.

“Shikhar Dhawan himself, the team owner, surprised me. He came and we had a little conversation.

He gave me some very good tips and a direction to work towards from here,” he says. Shikhar Dhawan showered praise on Anshuman Hooda in one of his Instagram stories.

(Screengrab) It was a moment of validation. For someone who had spent years outside the conventional cricket pathway, being noticed by an established name carried significance beyond a conversation.

Speed is not enoughAt 140 kmph, Anshuman possesses the one commodity that can change a fast bowler's career quickly: pace. Coach Dagar believes there is more to come.

“Definitely, speed is what I want. If I can, I will definitely look to bowl even faster and build the strength and skills to do that, while making sure there is no compromise on accuracy and line,” said Anshuman.

That final clause is important. Pace can attract attention.

Accuracy keeps a fast bowler in a team. For Anshuman, the next challenge is therefore not simply touching a bigger number on the speed gun.

It is learning how to sustain high pace across long spells, particularly in red-ball cricket. He is already thinking about it.

“These are the things we prepare for. Who bowls in a four-day or five-day game and bowls long spells with the same effort?

That is what I am preparing for. If I get an opportunity, I will definitely do that.”

Anshuman's ambition is clear. First, Delhi.

Then first-class cricket. “The eventual goal is to play and win matches for the country.

That is my ultimate goal,” he says. Job or cricketThere is, however, one more conversation happening in Anshuman's life.

The conversation between security and possibility. An engineering degree and a job at a good company offer a predictable future.

And he has got a promotion before the start of the DPL season as well. Cricket offers something very different: uncertainty, competition and the possibility of a career that can disappear as quickly as it arrives.

Currently, I have joined back. But as I have seen some substantial progress in my cricket in recent months and in this tournament, I might, in the coming times, shift my whole focus to cricket and give it my all.

Anshuman HoodaFor now, Anshuman has returned to work. “Currently, I have joined back.

But as I have seen some substantial progress in my cricket in recent months and in this tournament, I might, in the coming times, shift my whole focus to cricket and give it my all.” Anshuman Hooda during his convocation at DTU.

(Special Arrangement) It is a significant sentence from someone who once thought about quitting the sport altogether. There is also a quiet irony in the fact that the engineer who learned to manage competing demands may soon have to choose one.

“I will give it my all. Let’s see what happens ahead.”

PollWhat aspect of Anshuman's journey do you find most inspiring?

In Brief Posted: 7:00 AM PDT · October 6, 2026 Image Credits: Pinterest Pinterest on Tuesday showed off a new feature that will lever...