Anshuman Rath (born 5 November 1997) is a Hong Kong cricketer who previously captained the Hong Kong national cricket team.[1] In September 2019, he retired from the Hong Kong national team to pursue a career in India.[2] In August 2021, he became eligible to play as a local player in India as an Indian passport holder, and had represented Odisha since the 2021–22 Indian domestic cricket season.[3][4]

Anshuman Rath
Personal information
Full name
Anshuman Rath
Born (1997-11-05) 5 November 1997 (age 27)
Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingSlow left-arm orthodox
RoleBatsman, occasional wicket-keeper
International information
National side
ODI debut (cap 29)8 November 2014 v PNG
Last ODI18 September 2018 v India
T20I debut (cap 17)15 July 2015 v Nepal
Last T20I31 October 2023 v Bahrain
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2021/22–presentOdisha
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I FC LA
Matches 18 20 7 35
Runs scored 736 321 454 1,535
Batting average 52.57 18.88 45.40 47.96
100s/50s 1/6 0/0 0/4 3/12
Top score 143* 44 98* 143*
Balls bowled 337 198 164 427
Wickets 14 5 7 16
Bowling average 11.92 52.80 16.14 16.12
5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 3/22 3/6 4/34 3/22
Catches/stumpings 4/– 6/– 3/– 7/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 31 October 2023

Rath returned to Hong Kong's squad for the Hong Kong Quadrangular Series in March 2023.[5]

Personal life

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Anshuman Rath's home is based in Satyanagar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India and he belongs to an Odia family.[6] In the late 1990s, his father left India for business and settled in Hong Kong. Anshuman was born in 1997 in Hong Kong.[7][8]

He started playing cricket at the age of four with Tarang, when his father introduced him to the sport. He attended West Island School.[9]

International career

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He made his One Day International (ODI) debut for Hong Kong on 8 November 2014 against Papua New Guinea in Australia.[10] He made his Twenty20 International debut for Hong Kong against Nepal at the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament on 15 July 2015.[11] He made his first-class debut for Hong Kong against the United Arab Emirates in the 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup tournament on 11 November 2015.[12]

On 16 February 2017 in the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship match against the Netherlands, he scored his maiden List A century and added 197 runs for the third wicket with Babar Hayat. This was a List A record for Hong Kong and a record for any wicket in a World Cricket League match.[13]

In December 2017, he scored his first century in an ODI match, when he made 143 not out against Papua New Guinea in the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship.[14] It was also the highest individual score by a Hong Kong batsman in an ODI match.[14] He finished as the leading run-scorer in the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship, with a total of 678 runs from 10 matches.[15]

In August 2018, he was named the vice-captain of Hong Kong's squad for the 2018 Asia Cup Qualifier tournament.[16] However, prior to the tournament, he replaced Babar Hayat as captain, after Hayat stepped down from the role.[17][18] Hong Kong won the qualifier tournament, and he was then named as captain of Hong Kong's squad for the 2018 Asia Cup.[19]

In April 2019, he was named as the captain of Hong Kong's squad for the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament in Namibia.[20] He was the leading run-scorer in the tournament, with 290 runs in six matches.[21] He and Nizakat Khan scored 174 against India, the highest partnership for Hong Kong in ODIs. Hong Kong lost the match by 26 runs but the fight was praised by the Indian team.

T20 franchise career

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In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Edmonton Royals franchise team in the 2019 Global T20 Canada tournament.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Story of Anshy Rath a mark of Hong Kong's progress". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Exclusive: Anshuman Rath quits Hong Kong to pursue Indian dream – will enter IPL draft as a local". Emerging Cricket. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Former Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath set to represent Odisha in India domestic". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Anshuman Rath". Orisports. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  5. ^ Ball, Josh (3 March 2023). "Cricket Hong Kong hand ex-Sri Lanka and Kent coach Willis reins of men's team, with ODI status still in their sights". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  6. ^ Namita Panda (22 September 2015). "Odia boy to wear Hong Kong colours in World Cup". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Odia Boy Anshuman Rath Will Play Against India In Asia Cup Game". Kanak News Bureau. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  8. ^ Patnaik, Devbrat (18 September 2018). "Rath Vs Rohit: Odia Boy Captain Against India At Asia Cup 2018". Odisha TV. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  9. ^ Kung, Kevin (7 October 2012). "Howzat for talent! Two outstanding teenager cricketers are making names for themselves with the bat and ball in Hong Kong's senior squad". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  10. ^ "Hong Kong tour of Australia, 1st ODI: Papua New Guinea v Hong Kong at Townsville, Nov 8, 2014". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  11. ^ "ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, 26th Match, Group A: Hong Kong v Nepal at Belfast, Jul 15, 2015". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  12. ^ "ICC Intercontinental Cup, United Arab Emirates v Hong Kong at Dubai (CA), Nov 11–14, 2015". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  13. ^ "Hong Kong collapse allows Netherlands to escape with five-run win". ESPNcricinfo. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  14. ^ a b "Adnan Mufti hundred in bizarre UAE victory". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  15. ^ "ICC World Cricket League, 2015-2016/17 / Records / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Sports Media. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  16. ^ "Hong Kong Squad for the ACC Asia Cup Qualifiers 2018 - 27th August – 8th September 2018". Hong Kong Cricket. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018. Archived 4 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "Captaincy Change at Asia Cup Qualifiers for Hong Kong". Hong Kong Cricket. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018. Archived 30 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "Young Hong Kong a banana peel for Pakistan". ESPNcricinfo. 15 September 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  19. ^ "Anshuman Rath to lead Hong Kong into the 2018 Unimoni Asia Cup". Hong Kong Cricket. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018. Archived 10 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ "All to play for in last ever World Cricket League tournament". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  21. ^ "ICC World Cricket League Division Two, 2019, List A matches, Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  22. ^ "Global T20 draft streamed live". Canada Cricket Online. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
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