Tushar Deshpande’s performance this IPL season has impressed South Africa’s legendary fast bowler Dale Steyn, who believes the national selectors should take notice of the Rajasthan Royals seamer’s poise and execution in the final over against Gujarat Titans.
Deshpande has had a great start to the 2026 IPL season with the Rajasthan Royals. On Saturday in Ahmedabad, he defended 10 runs in the final over to win the match against the Gujarat Titans.
“The final over bowled by Tushar Deshpande was exceptional. He executed his yorkers perfectly under pressure, did not give any chances to a player like Rashid Khan to find the boundary and he ensured his team did not suffer any hiccups in the final over of a 200-plus run chase.
“It is very difficult for a bowler to stay calm in such a high-pressure situation because a lot of things go through your mind. But, to ensure your plans are executed perfectly without feeling the pressure is a rare skill,” PTI quoted Steyn telling broadcaster Star Sports on how Deshpande outsmarted Rashid Khan in the last over.
Steyn added, “Tushar bowled four inch-perfect yorkers, then he changed his line and delivered the length ball and by doing that, he baited Rashid Khan into hitting a big shot on that delivery and he ended up getting caught on the boundary line. Wonderful display of game sense. Tushar Deshpande bowled in a fearless manner and this bowling performance will ensure that the Indian selectors don’t take their eyes off him this IPL season.”
Bought for Rs 6.50 crore, he has made a name for himself as an important bowler for RR, building on his prior achievements as a top wicket-taker that allowed him to join the Indian side for a T20I series against Zimbabwe in 2024. Steyn described the exciting game as the season’s best thus far as RR prevailed by 6 runs.
“This match between GT and RR is easily the best game of IPL 2026. In the latter half of the season, when the playoff spots will be decided, GT will look at this match and wonder how many opportunities they had to win it. But they did not capitalize and let the match slip away.
“RR are going to be really happy with this win. Their last victory against CSK, they did not have to work hard to secure it. But here against GT, the match went down to the final over and RR were forced to do everything they could to seal the win.
“Last season, Rajasthan had a heartbreaker of an IPL season. They lost matches by small margins. They missed out on golden opportunities to seal the win. They could not convert the chances into victories. But this season, RR is looking like a different team.”
Former India batsman Sanjay Bangar, meanwhile, commended RR captain Riyan Parag for managing pressure to guide his team to its second straight victory.
“Riyan Parag deserves the credit for his amazing captaincy in this match against GT. It is not an easy job being a skipper, especially when you have tons of bowling options to choose from and you find yourself in a high-pressure situation.
“Riyan clearly trusted Tushar Deshpande to bowl the final over and when a captain chooses you to bowl an over that’s a do or die one, then you have to do well. If you don’t, your team will lose. It is important for the skipper to motivate the bowler when asking him to do such a tough job.
“You have to constantly tell them that you can do it and Tushar Deshpande lived up to the expectations by soaking in all the pressure and bowled the best over of his cricket career. Once you get that kind of trust and faith from your skipper, it is a wonderful feeling.”
