Harsh Dubey's star on the rise, with a guiding hand from R Ashwin

When Vidarbha's Harsh Dubey takes the field in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Tamil Nadu on Saturday, he'll be up against a number of friends in the opposition camp. Dubey, this season's highest wicket-taker so far with 55 scalps at an incredible average of 14.50, has been playing league cricket in Chennai for the past four years and can't wait to "banter" with his mates.

"Pradosh Ranjan Paul is a very close friend, I've played a lot of cricket with Sai Sudharsan. They're wonderful blokes, but whenever we play for our respective teams, there's a healthy banter and rivalry, which makes it that much more fun," Dubey tells ESPNcricinfo.

This is Dubey's first full Ranji season. As a left-arm-spin allrounder, an opportunity opened up only because two-time Ranji winner Aditya Sarwate shifted to Kerala as a professional. It would be an understatement to say Dubey has grabbed his opportunities. Dubey's tally ahead of the knockouts includes six five-wicket hauls - three of them in his last four bowling innings.

He has also contributed 308 runs, including three half-centuries. "As a spinner alone, I've looked up to Ravindra Jadeja and Rangana Herath, I love watching them bowl, but as an allrounder, it's hard to look past Jaddu bhai," he says.

Dubey, 22, attributes his improvements as a cricketer to his batting lessons in Nagpur and his bowling lessons in Chennai. Dubey first began playing for the Mylapore Recreational Club (MRC), captained by R Ashwin. Incidentally, that stint was facilitated by Ashwin when he was supposed to have been enjoying a day off from the IPL.

"I was playing the semi-final of the CK Nayudu Trophy [Under-23 tournament] against Madhya Pradesh in Vadodara because I'd been dropped from the Ranji squad," Dubey remembers. "I'd just taken seven wickets and scored 60 not out with the bat. I'd just returned to my room when my friend Rajneesh Gurbani [the former Vidarbha fast bowler, who now plays for Maharashtra] called.

"The IPL was going on and he was a net bowler for Rajasthan Royals. He was playing chess when Ash bhai happened to ask Gurbani if he knew of a left-arm spinner form our state. And Gurbani told him about me and one other player. Ashwin then googled my name and found a couple of YouTube videos of me bowling and asked Gurbani if I'm interested to play in the Chennai league.

"I had anticipated Prasidh [Krishna] bowling a yorker, so shuffled across to scoop, but when he went for a wide yorker, I was quickly able to innovate and ramp him towards third man. These I can execute only because of the work I've put in with the bat and with the side-arm specialists. The focus is on keeping the head still while playing those shots."

"Gurbani immediately called me. I still remember, I was on the way back to the hotel and was exhausted. He's like 'bhai, will you play in the Chennai league?' I told him, I'm too tired now, I am not thinking about playing immediately. And then it suddenly struck me what I'd just said. I quickly rang up Sarwate [Dubey's Vidarbha team-mate at the time] who was playing in Chennai and asked him about it, and he was like if you're getting a chance there, hands down go for it. Then I called Gurbani and informed him. That's how it all started."

Dubey began as an opening batter - he would even go on to score a half-century on first-class debut - but it was his bowling heroics at the age-group level that caught people's attention. Now 15 games into his first-class career, Dubey's batting promise is clear once again - he has hit five half-centuries in 25 innings, with a high score of 76.

"I learn mostly from watching my videos and with a close friend who helps me," he says. "Like after the Rajasthan game, I changed a bit in my stance and grip on my base when batting. That helped me our previous game against Hyderabad [he made 65 and 55, in addition to a match haul of eight]."

"This season I felt the way I batted in the Vijay Hazare final [he made 63 off 30 as Vidarbha tried to chase 349], it felt nice," he continues. "I had anticipated Prasidh [Krishna] bowling a yorker, so shuffled across to scoop, but when he went for a wide yorker, I was quickly able to innovate and ramp him towards third man. These I can execute only because of the work I've put in with the bat and with the side-arm specialists. The focus is on keeping the head still while playing those shots."

If he continues this way, Dubey's performances will put him in the queue for the India spin-bowling allrounder's spot. Jadeja, his hero, is 36 and Ashwin has already retired. Among the fingerspinners, there's Washington Sundar and Axar Patel high up in the pecking order. At the India A level, there's Manav Suthar who has also done incredibly well. This is where Dubey's batting ability could give him an edge in the longer run, but he's not thinking too far ahead.

"My goal currently is to help win the Ranji Trophy," he says. "Because that thing motivates me rather than my personal goals."

Dubey comes across as relaxed and not completely overwhelmed by the prospect of competition. He says it has never occurred to him that cricket is a "profession" and that he doesn't have a back-up plan. But there's gratitude for the sacrifices made by his parents.

His father was in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), a job that included periodic transfers. As a kid, Dubey lived in Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata and Guwahati, before the family settled in Nagpur. When he was due for another transfer just prior to the pandemic, he turned it down - which meant giving up his job - to support Dubey's cricketing journey.

"I'd been picked in the Under-23s when my dad decided to leave his job," he says. "But I didn't look at it as pressure, even though it was a big decision for him. Nowadays, people don't quit government jobs so easily, he had a few years of service left. But today, he feels very happy for [making] the call. He doesn't express it as much but I know he's happy that I'm doing well."