Tushar Deshpande bustles through the crease and bowls a heavy ball well. After a couple of brilliant years for the Chennai Super Kings in seasons 2023 and 2024 with consistent domestic outputs for Mumbai, the seamer was in and around the Indian side in white-ball squads. However, last year in October, Deshpande sustained an ankle injury, which took its toll on his body as he had to go through surgery and missed the Ranji season last year. He did return for the Indian Premier League season in 2025 for the Rajasthan Royals, but has had a mixed season with them. But the pacer is hopeful to make a strong comeback for the Duleep Trophy and also aspires to play for India in red-ball cricket.
“I have put in a lot of effort, actually,” Deshpande said in Chennai. “It was a major ankle surgery and that being my landing foot, it was necessary that I get operated at that moment of time because coming ahead are a lot of international tours as well. I’m aiming for that and I’m feeling good now for the start of the season,” Deshpande recalled speaking to The ESPNCricinfo.
“The aspiration is always to play Test cricket for India, but I’m taking one match at a time, one day at a point, and just following a good process and keeping myself fit because I’ve lost considerable time off the game last year. So just keeping myself fit so I can again hit the hard yards for Mumbai,” he said.
While bowling is his main forte, he is no mug with the bat either. Deshpande has scored his maiden Ranji ton last year batting at number eleven. “Fast bowling was the second thing which I later picked up in my career when I was at Under-13. So, I feel batting comes naturally to me, but my dad always told me that if you bat with patience you’ll be a good batter,” Deshpande said. “He just told me ‘don’t throw your wicket away and let the bowler earn your wicket’.
“During my hundred, Tanush [Kotian] trusted me and rotated the strike – so credit goes to him as well. I had scored 70-odd runs (62 from No. 7) against MP (Madhya Pradesh) back in 2016 in my debut season.”
