Yash Poonja, centre, celebrates with his teammate after Lucknow Super Giants’ Nicholas Pooran was dismissed during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants (PTI Image)
New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals (RR) are just one win away from booking a place in the IPL 2026 playoffs, taking them closer to the much-awaited IPL title. However, it certainly won’t be easy for Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians (MI), who will be keen to end their topsy-turvy season.
While the likes of Jofra Archer and Ravindra Jadeja are certainly attracting interest, 20-year-old Yash Raj Poonja has been an unheralded game-changer. Abu Dhabi-born Punja has picked six wickets in five matches so far this season, maintaining an economy rate of 8.35. The leg-spinner particularly stood out with his performance in RR’s recent match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), where he deceived Josh Inglis, and emerged as the pick of the bowlers.While the 6ft 5in Ponga has impressed everyone in his maiden season in the Indian Premier League, his early days as a cricketer were certainly rocky to say the least. Sandeep Dhuri, coach at Zayed Cricket Academy in Abu Dhabi, where the player joined as a seven-year-old, said he had “absolutely nothing” in terms of cricket. Dori also added that Bunga was terrible at first but was able to pick up skills quickly.
“Switch from speed to leg rotation”“I started as a fast bowler but decided to switch to leg-spinner based on inputs given by a coach from the Gary Kirsten Cricket Academy in South Africa. He told me that I have much more potential as a bowler, which I thought was very big, which led to the change,” the RR pacer said during an exclusive interaction with TimesofIndia.com.While Poonja initially played cricket with enough emphasis on academics, an important turning point soon arrived after he was discovered by former Karnataka coach Karthik Jeshwath.
The leg-spinner impressed Jeshwath with his bounce, urging him to approach the RR cricketer’s parents about giving cricket a fair chance. Bonga’s parents were very skeptical about going all out at the expense of academics, considering his brother Yudin suffered from injuries that eventually led to early retirement.Alistair Cook’s note for X-factorHowever, Jeshwath managed to convince them of Yash’s potential, paving the way for enhanced focus on the game.
“Former England captain Alastair Cook had described him as a boy with the X factor about two months before he saw him. This also played a role,” Jeshwath said. The 20-year-old has decided to represent Karnataka in domestic cricket and has been actively training at the SIX Cricket Academy in Bengaluru with a focus on healing the cracks in the armour. Bonga’s ability to deliver the ball with precise length quickly caught the attention of coach Zubin Bharucha, paving the way for a game-changing development.“You chose the right man”“I knew that Yash had the potential to play for India at first sight given his incredible pace and fantastic delivery. Long-legged players usually over-bowle the ball due to the height factor. However, Yash maintained his height while bowling to Dhruv Gurriel, and hit the top of the bat consistently. As we were leaving, Gurriel said, ‘You have chosen the right man,'” said Gurriel.A routine was soon developed that involved two practice sessions where Yash was expected to bowl 70 balls a day.
Bharucha encouraged focusing on stacking on “volume” to develop a strong base that can help boost mental strength, clarity and consistency. Bonga initially struggled to adapt to this new routine, failing to complete the overs quota due to other commitments.“I had to give a big lecture about keeping your head down and committing to bowling 70 overs in two sessions because there will be no progress without that.
It is essential to maintain the power while bowling every delivery because that is where the magic lies. While Yash didn’t understand the concept at first, he slowly came to grips with it. You can’t throw 10 overs and disappear,” shared Bharucha.“We worked on his alignment and the area where the ball was supposed to land. One day, I simply removed all the stumps from the crease and asked him to bowl freely. There were moments of discomfort but Yash’s skills improved.
He added: “Shane Warne used to say: ‘You can control how the ball reaches the batsman, but it has to land in a similar place with a good length,’ which is something I mentioned during our conversations.”Learn from Yuzvendra ChahalRavichandran AshwinAs Bonga piled on the volume, committing to an intense routine where there was no room for failure, dominance of the craft quickly became a shining trait. The 20-year-old cricketer continued to push his limits after initially struggling with 10-15 overs on the day, ensuring 40 overs continuously to deliver instantly.
An improved work ethic quickly became a mental core concept, with high personal standards and maximum emphasis on working beyond everyone else’s scope.
Off the field, Bonga has incorporated meditation into his routine, which has led to the ability to stay focused on the present rather than falling prey to pressure.“My googling has been an issue for about a year. However, bowling 15 overs in a specific spot over and over again helped me put the ball exactly where I wanted it.
Sid Zubin’s focus on size has a major role to play because of the confidence he develops,” shared Yash.The RR leg-spinner described Anil Kumble and Yuzvendra Chahal as his biggest role models, and highlighted the input from the latter as a net bowler with RR in 2024. Ponga also got the chance to learn from Ravichandran Ashwin, citing his focus on developing new variations and bowling them frequently into the nets to develop leadership.Invitation to Team India Fast TrackBharucha believes Punja should be taken into consideration as he has been paced in India’s squad just like Varun Chakaravarthy, considering the quality and control of his deliveries. “The ceiling is very high. He is very advanced compared to others in the same profile, especially considering the amazing look of the ball, the accuracy and the multiple variations. Kumble has built his career off bowling exactly one length,” Yash told. Why can’t you do the same? “It’s an incredible template.”