Kerala pacer Tom is back in action and making things happen

Nagpur: Eden Apple Tom, a promising pace bowler from Kerala, makes a strong comeback in Ranji Trophy after injury.

NAGPUR

Even before Kerala established itself as a team to watch out for in the Ranji Trophy, it had a legacy in pace bowling. Men like Tinu Yohannan, S. Sreesanth, Sandeep Warrier, Basil Thampi, K.M. Asif, Prasanth Parameswaran and Prasanth Chandran had caught the eye with their speed or swing.

Three years ago, a 16-year-old seemed poised to keep the tradition forward. And Eden Apple Tom had a dream debut, literally: he took a wicket with his first ball in First Class cricket. He had visualised it, he told this correspondent at Rajkot back in 2022, after having the Meghalaya opener Kishan Lyngdo caught at slip.

But a stress fracture on his back kept him away from cricket for an entire season. He is back playing the Ranji Trophy, though. And he is looking good.

He came up with a crucial spell against Vidarbha on the second day of the Ranji Trophy final at the VCA Stadium here on Thursday. He dismissed a man who came to this match after scoring 933 runs: Yash Rathod was undone by a ball that swung away.

Sony Cheruvathur, who coached him from his formative years, is delighted Tom has returned to the senior Kerala team. “He is a special talent, one of the best I have come across,” Sony told The Hindu from Dubai, where Eden used to train at his academy. “He can go a long way.”

He is deceptively quick, has a good bouncer and can trouble the batter with his angles, too. And he can get better: he is just 19.