Tushar Deshpande isn't tall. He isn't intimidating. He smiles as easily as he blushes. His standout traits aren't conventionally that of a fast bowler. The only menace about him is his pace, and the zone that gets him carried away with it.
INDIA DOMESTIC
Tushar Deshpande - a chronic overstepper's redemption
Overcoming injuries and his over-stepping problems, Tushar Deshpande has gone on to become a vital cog in Mumbai's pace arsenal © Cricbuzz
On his debut day in first-class cricket, Deshpande was asked by a senior journalist if he considered himself a 'rhythm bowler'. Back then, he had no clue what it meant. He mustered up an answer, which was convincing neither to the scribe nor to himself.
Two years since then, however, he is much wiser. He can give you a thesis, with examples, explaining the art of 'rhythm bowling'. It was a year of struggle and pain, away from cricket that he learnt about the game and his body more than probably what he would've on the field.
A product of Shivaji Park Gymkhana, he was one of the players selected as part of their scholarship program, in the same batch as Shreyas Iyer. With Pravin Amre busy as Mumbai's coach in his debut season, it was Padmakar Shivalkar and Sandesh Kawle who trained him.
"After going there, I realised what real Mumbai cricket is. You have to raise your cricket every day or else someone else will take your place," Deshpande tells Cricbuzz. "If I was taking three wickets here, someone else was taking five wickets on the next pitch. Woh Mumbai ka competition hai aur woh rehna hi chahiye(That's the competition level in Mumbai and that's how it should be). That gets the best out of everyone."
After impressing in Cooch Behar Trophy with 21 wickets in four games, he got selected in Mumbai's squad. However, his debut game
