Who is Manav Suthar? 5 interesting facts about spinner who could be picked up at IPL 2024 auction

21-year-old Manav Suthar is another promising addition to a long list of left-arm spinners in the Indian domestic circuit.

The Rajasthan-born cricketer has displayed impeccable skill and temperament well ahead of his age. Despite a base price of ₹20 Lakh, his performances this year make Suthar a potentially hot property at the 2024 IPL auction on December 19.

Furthermore, his ability to add valuable runs down the order could bolster his chances of being bagged by some of the high-profile franchises as the perfect long-term investment. His home franchise, Rajasthan Royals, are searching for a left-arm spinner to complement the star duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, and Suthar might be the ideal choice.

The youngster remains a relatively unknown figure among the usual cricketing fans. Considering that, here is a look at five interesting facts about Manav Suthar ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.

# 1 Sensational 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season to earn Duleep Trophy and India A selection

Despite making his first-class debut in the 2021-22 Ranji season, Manav Suthar's breakthrough came in the following edition.

Still only 20-years-old then, the young spinner picked up 39 wickets at an average of 20.32 with two five-wicket hauls in six outings. Suthar's best moment of the season came when he dismissed Kerala captain Sanju Samson in both innings of Rajasthan's second game.

The budding cricketer also showcased his resilience in the lower order with the bat, scoring 224 runs at an average of 32 with two half-centuries.

Suthar also produced one of the greatest all-round performances in Ranji Trophy history in the clash against Puducherry.

He scored a magnificent 96 in Rajasthan's first innings to resurrect a sinking ship and followed that up with 11 wickets, including an incredible 8/33 in the first innings. It won Suthar his first Player of the Match award in only his fifth first-class game.

Having finished as the zonal leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy, Suthar was picked for the Central Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy earlier this year.

While he did not feature in either of their two games, Suthar's other feather in the cap moment came when he was selected to the India A squad for the ongoing tour of South Africa.

At just 21, Suthar's red-ball growth has been promising, and the left-arm spinner is a potential heir apparent to Ravindra Jadeja.

# 2 Suthar's magic in the 2023 ACC Men's Emerging Cup

Suthar bamboozled the Pakistan batters with his artistry.

Manav Suthar's white-ball skills came to the forefront during the ACC Men's Emerging Cup in July.

Playing for India A, the 21-year-old finished as the third leading wicket-taker in the competition, with 10 scalps in five games at an average of 19.20 and an economy of 4.20

The highlight of Suthar's outstanding tournament was his spell of 3/36 in 10 overs against arch-rivals Pakistan A. His wickets included the Pakistan A skipper Mohammad Haris and middle order batters Haseebullah Khan and Kamran Ghulam. It helped restrict the Men in Green to only 205 and helped India win by eight wickets.

It was also Suthar's maiden List-A tournament, and the youngster showed no signs of nerves and rose to the occasion several times in India-A's final run.

# 3 Match-winning impact at the start of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy

Suthar kickstarted Rajasthan's domination in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The Rajasthan side has been dominating the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT), winning all six group games, followed by victories in the quarter-final and semi-final.

While Manav Suthar has missed the second half of the tournament due to his India A call-up against South Africa, he stamped his authority at the start.

The 21-year-old set the tournament ablaze with a valuable 41 off 59 balls with the bat and figures of 2/36 with ball in hand in Rajasthan's opening game win against Arunachal Pradesh. Suthar followed that with another impressive outing against Andhra Pradesh, with a match-winning spell of 3/46 to help Rajasthan pull off a 38-run victory.

In three games, Suthar averaged 24 with the ball at an excellent economy of under 4.50.

Should Rajasthan go on to win the final against Haryana, the youngster's performances during the initial stages could be an unsung yet vital contribution to the ultimate goal.

# 4 Suthar was a net bowler for the Gujarat Titans during their title run in IPL 2022

A little-known fact is that Manav Suthar was one of the net bowlers for the Gujarat Titans (GT) during their inaugural IPL season in 2022. As destiny would have it, the franchise won the title in their maiden run, ironically defeating Suthar's hometown Rajasthan in the final.

Despite going unsold in the auction later that year, the youngster would have gained plenty from sharing space with the game's best - Rashid Khan, Hardik Pandya, and Shubman Gill.

The stint with the Titans would have also given Suthar a chance to rub shoulders with seasoned first-class left-arm spinner Sai Kishore. The Tamil Nadu bowler recently made his India debut in the Asian games despite playing sparingly for GT, something Suthar can take inspiration from.

# 5 Suthar was the leading wicket-taker of the India-Afghanistan Under-19 series in 2019

The Indian side also featured the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma.

Another interesting fact about Manav Suthar is that he played for the India Under-19 side in the five-match limited-overs series against Afghanistan Under-19 at home in 2019. At just 17, he finished as the leading wicket-taker in the series, with 10 scalps at a remarkable average of nine. Incidentally, Suthar played only three of the five games and still achieved the feat.

That series featured several players who are now regulars in their respective national white-ball sides - Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, and Noor Ahmad. Suthar also displayed an admirable clutch gene with a spell of 5/19 in the series-clinching fourth ODI.

Before the Afghanistan series, the 21-year-old also played a lone red-ball game for the Indian Under-19 team in a two-match series against South Africa Under-19. He had an appreciable outing up four wickets, including three scalps in the second innings.