The adage ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ stands true for Anshul Kamboj and his emergence as a bankable death-bowler.

From bowling just three deliveries in overs 16 to 20 in his first two IPL seasons to being the first to take 10 wickets in that phase in the 2026 edition, Kamboj’s evolution has come at the right time for Chennai Super Kings.

The 25-year-old put his hand up and performed in the death overs (economy of 8.6 and a dot-ball percentage of 44.7) as the franchise leaned on him after losing two premier pacers — Nathan Ellis (ruled out for the season) and Khaleel Ahmed (sidelined after five games) — to injuries.

Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming waxed eloquent about Kamboj’s perseverance after CSK’s eight-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians, a game in which the pacer scalped two of his 10 death-over victims (Robin Minz and Hardik Pandya).

“It’s not a surprise for us. He’s worked hard with Eric Simons (bowling coach) around the concept of death bowling,” Fleming said on Saturday.

“All we really needed was evidence. We put in a lot of work during pre-season with open wickets to understand the angles, which helped him gauge what he can and cannot do from certain sides of the wicket,” Fleming explained.

The numbers validate Fleming’s point on Kamboj using angles to his advantage. The right-armer fancies bowling round the wicket in the death overs, dishing out 62 of his 84 deliveries (including wides and no-balls) from that side of the stumps.

The mode of attack reaped rewards aplenty, with eight of his death-over wickets coming this way. He has preferred to keep the ball away from the batter, with 51 of his death-over deliveries coming either outside off (34) or wide outside off (17).

Beyond stats and strategies, it is Kamboj’s tenacity that demands recognition. In other words, he had a will and he found a way!