Anshul Kamboj on critics, expectations and making his own mark in India colours

NZ vs IND: Anshul Kamboj impressed with figures of 2/22 and 46 dot balls against New Zealand in the first ODI. The India pacer also opened up on criticism, his all-rounder ambitions and Shubman Gill's praise for his bowling.NZ vs IND: Anshul Kamboj finished with figures of 2/22 in his 10 overs against New Zealand at Auckland. (Image: AFP)Auckland,Nov 4, 2026 18:54 ISTAnshul Kamboj gave India a timely reminder of his bowling credentials with an impressive spell against New Zealand in the first ODI at Eden Park on Wednesday. The Haryana pacer returned figures of 2/22 from his 10 overs, sending down 46 dot balls as the hosts were bowled out for 185.His performance also earned a strong endorsement from captain Shubman Gill, who believes Kamboj has the attributes to thrive in conditions such as those in New Zealand.NZ vs IND, 1st ODI: Highlights | Scorecard"Anshul is the kind of a bowler... I think he's tailor-made for these conditions, always nippy, trying to seam the ball, and good with the old ball," Gill said during the post-match presentation. "We felt when there's not much happening from the wicket, he can create that extra bounce and with his pace and the way both of them bowled tonight was really magnificent to watch."Kamboj complemented the efforts of Arshdeep Singh and Gurnoor Brar, who picked up four and three wickets respectively. While the two struck at regular intervals, Kamboj ensured New Zealand could not build momentum during the middle overs. The 25-year-old said the assistance on offer made it important to get his lengths right rather than chase wickets."The wicket was offering a bit of seam movement. But it was also important to bowl good lengths to get something out of the surface. If you miss your lengths, you can go for runs," he said during the post-match press conference."I was just trying to keep bowling in the right areas for as long as possible. There was enough assistance in the wicket if you bowled in the right areas."ONE BAD MATCHKamboj's performance came after an expensive ODI debut, but the pacer insisted that one difficult outing had done little to shake his confidence. He believes a single match should not determine how a player is judged."Basically, if you have one bad match, it doesn't define your career or determine whether you are a good or bad player. I've been doing the same things from the beginning, and I'm still doing them," he said."So, one bad match didn't affect me too much. It only motivated me to do better, improve further and work harder."Asked whether Indian cricket fans and experts were too quick to form opinions after a poor performance, Kamboj said he preferred to stay away from the noise."Actually, I don't pay much attention to these things. I focus more on my cricket and think about how I can improve. I don't bother about who is thinking what about me or what people are saying. It doesn't affect me much," he said.The Haryana pacer also explained why he does not judge his bowling purely by the runs conceded. For him, executing the intended delivery remains more important than the eventual outcome."If you want to bowl a yorker and execute it well but still concede runs, there's no problem with that. You shouldn't focus too much on the result because it won't always go in your favour," he said.ALL-ROUNDER AMBITIONSKamboj also spoke about his development as an all-rounder, explaining that he prefers to treat batting and bowling as separate responsibilities rather than trying to balance both simultaneously."For an all-rounder, it's quite simple. When you have the ball in your hand, you're a bowler. When you have the bat in your hand, you're a batter. You have to focus on those things separately," he said."When you're batting, don't think about bowling, and when you're bowling, don't think about batting. That's the focus."He added that improving his batting remains an important part of his development, alongside continuing to work on his bowling and fielding.With India's first-choice fast bowlers unavailable for the opening ODI, Kamboj has made a strong case for himself in a young pace attack. His ability to extract bounce, maintain accuracy and keep the scoring rate in check gives India another option in conditions that favour seam bowling. Gill's endorsement only adds to the promise of an outing in which Kamboj let his bowling do most of the talking.- Ends