D. Deepesh, just 18, has created a buzz with pace for Madurai Panthers in the TNPL this season.

The 2026 u-19 World Cup winner has repeatedly crossed 140 kph, even touching 146 kph. But he’s also been varying his speed, having worked on that with mentor Sandeep Warrier during the two-week gap after the TNCA First Division League.

“I got a good idea. That’s been helpful. We didn’t just work on speed alone. We worked on slower ones and yorkers, and bowling according to the situation. Speed is my natural ability,” Deepesh said after his team’s third successive win, against SKM Salem Spartans, at the NPR College Ground here on Monday.

“Ever since I started playing in the u-19 circuit, we have spoken a lot and have been working closely. He has been very helpful to me.

“In fact, I would say he’s the only person I’ve always spoken to about my bowling. Even this morning, I spoke with him. We discuss my bowling plan before almost every match,” Deepesh, who finished with three for 38 after conceding 45 in three overs against Vida Kovai Kings, said.

The spell followed a tidy one for 25 in the opening match against Trichy Grand Cholas. The youngster acknowledged the support he received after the initial setback.

“Even after I got hit, the team didn’t let me down. They were very encouraging. The bowling coach (assistant coach A.C. Prathiban) backed me a lot. We spoke about it. Pressure got to me in that situation. So today [Monday], I focused on bowling without letting the pressure get to me,” he said.

And he delivered on the promise, taking three for 18 in his last two overs after going for 20 runs in his first two.

When the idea of TG20 was first floated and plans for its inaugural season began to take shape, there was a palpable buzz across Telangana’s cricketing circles. Much of the excitement centered on the promise of discovering hidden gems — talented cricketers from districts beyond Hyderabad finally getting a stage worthy of their ambitions.

That promise has been fulfilled, but perhaps no story captures TG20’s impact better than that of Ved Reddy.

The 16-year-old emerged as one of the revelations of the tournament, spearheading Khammam Aces’ remarkable run to the final. Relentlessly consistent, Ved struck in all nine appearances, finishing second on the wicket-takers’ charts with 15 scalps.

Like most teenagers, though, Ved’s world extends beyond cricket. Every wicket he claims is followed by a celebration that has become as recognizable as his ripping leg-breaks.

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“It’s Michael Olise’s celebration. I am a Real Madrid fan and there are talks about him joining Real Madrid,” he tells The Hindu.

An ardent admirer of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ved’s cricketing journey began almost by chance. At the age of 11, he joined a corporate league where his father played. Competing against men, he finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 15 wickets in just six matches, a breakthrough that set him firmly on the path he now walks.

His transformation into a leg-spinner, however, was born less out of design and more out of practicality. “It was easy for me to turn when I was playing with the tennis ball. It was difficult to run a lot and bowl fast. I used to take two steps and spin, and that’s how I became a spinner.”

While Shane Warne is one of his idols, he also looks up to Rashid Khan a lot.

For all his composure and clarity beyond his years, TG20 presented Ved with an entirely new challenge. Floodlights, loud music, packed stands and the spectacle of professional cricket initially threatened to overwhelm the teenager.

“The fans, music, lights and everything, I felt a little pressure in the first one or two games. I didn’t know what to do. I needed to focus, so I set everything aside, and before every ball, I closed my eyes and breathed a little. That calms me a little.”

The nerves ran so deep that, as Ved recalls with a mischievous smile, even his body refused to cooperate. “My first over, I wanted to bowl the ball somewhere, and it would go somewhere else.”

It did not take long for those jitters to disappear.

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As the tournament progressed, Ved evolved into Aces’ go-to weapon. Trusted with the new ball during the PowerPlay and relied upon again through the middle overs, he repeatedly delivered breakthroughs that kept his side in the contest.

His performances quickly became one of the talking points of the tournament, drawing admiration from opponents, coaches and seasoned professionals alike. Among those impressed was Abhirath Reddy, the Hyderabad e-Champions captain who powered his side to the title while amassing 549 runs to claim the Orange Cap.

Ved had dismissed him during their league-stage encounter. Minutes after that game, Abhirath summed up the teenager’s tournament in one emphatic assessment: “He is the find of the tournament, without a doubt.”