The spinner who opens the bowling

Be it a limited over match or a Test match, a spinner is bound to turn heads if he opens the bowling. Shubham Vaidya from MD Bhatia School (Ghatkopar) is one such rare example in Mumbai’s school sports fraternity. The 13-year-old left-arm off-spinner rolls his arms with the new ball on most occasions. The youngster claimed seven wickets to dismiss St. Mary’s SSC (Mazgaon) for 51 in the first innings of the Plate division A finals of MSSA Giles Shield at Azad Maidan on Tuesday and take his tally to 24 for the season.

Vaidya’s hunger to perform doubled after his school was relegated to the Plate division last season. He was desperate to turn the tide and with a win against Amulakh Amichand (Matunga) in the semifinals, they promoted themselves to the Elite division for the next season.

“The hardwork will count for nothing if we don’t go on to win the shield,” said Vaidya who models his game around Ravindra Jadeja.

What is even more remarkable about the boy is that six out of his seven victims were clean bowled. “At times, we wait for a few overs before handing him the ball. We took a chance on him today and he proved us right,” said Rajesh Soni, coach of the Ghatkopar school.

Despite Vaidya’s heroics, MD Bhatia were bundled out for 96 at the end of first day.