Eden: Kerala’s Ranji Trophy final surprise whose career was saved by Bumrah’s doctor

Eden Apple Tom was a surprise name in Kerala's playing XI for the Ranji Trophy final against Vidarbha. The 19-year-old right-arm pacer had not played a single Ranji match the whole season and was included in place of top-order batter Varun Nayanar.

Eden gives coach Amay Khurasiya the option of a third pacer and is also quite handy with the bat, which should justify the inclusion because Nayanar could only contribute 11 across both innings in the semifinal against Gujarat in Ahmedabad.

But it wasn't the team composition per se that popped the surprise; it was the boy himself. Until a year ago, Eden's blossoming career was in danger of hitting a premature end. "We could have lost a very good player," said former Kerala captain Sony Cheruvathur, who discovered the bowler in Eden when he was about 12.

A season after making a brilliant senior state debut at just 16, the exciting young bowler was troubled by a back injury. It is common for pace bowlers to have issues with their lower back due to the repetitive motion of bowling, which can put a lot of stress on the spine, but in the case of Eden, the problem persisted.

"There was nothing much in the scans, but he was still in pain," Sony said. At that point, KCA Secretary Vinod S Kumar convinced the coaches to send the boy to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. "He (Vinod) wasn't the secretary then, but he rang up the NCA and ensured that Eden's case was looked at. That decision was crucial."

The specialists at NCA found that Eden had a stress fracture in the back, which started on one side and got worse. The problem had aggravated to the point that it was potentially career-ending. It was a similar one that troubled India's ace bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who is again out with a back injury and missing from India's ongoing ICC Champions Trophy campaign in Dubai. "Bumrah's doctor treated him," Sony said.

The recovery and comeback
The treatment went well, but the biggest challenge for Eden was to recover and restart his progress.

It was easier said than done because just a couple of seasons ago, he was bowling in tandem with S Sreesanth in the Ranji Trophy. Former coach Tinu Yohannan saw enough in the 16-year-old net bowler that he got him straight into the senior Kerala team in the same season that he broke into the Kerala U-19 team.

Eden famously took a wicket off his first ball in Ranji against Meghalaya. He did the same in the second innings, too, and finished with six wickets on debut. He was also hitting the deck hard in Under-19 cricket and was on the national selectors' radar with the World Cup in mind.

"For a young promising bowler, to go from there to being sidelined a full season can be very tough. He underwent a painful journey," said Sony. But the coach is proud of the manner in which his protege conducted himself during the period.

"Very impressive," Sony said. "He showed great mental toughness throughout the phase. His family also had a positive attitude."

Eden returned to action this season and was among the wickets at the junior level. He made a decent impact with Thrissur Titans in the inaugural Kerala Cricket League before getting recalled to the senior side for a Vijay Hazare Trophy match two days before Christmas. Eden played against Krunal Pandya's Baroda on a flat surface, where 744 runs were scored. He dismissed Path Kohli and also looked decent with the bat.

On day one of the final in Nagpur, Kerala's first in its 68-year Ranji Trophy history, Eden shared the new ball with the experienced M D Nidheesh. He was unflustered, like he belonged to the stage. Eden returned to action after a four-over first spell and got the wicket of Dhruv Shorey, forcing the right-hander to drive a length ball pitched outside off and edge to the keeper.

Eden was the most used pacer on a surface that gradually turned into a batter's delight. When Kerala captain Sachin Baby took the second new ball, he tossed it to the young pacer, who gave a glimpse of his best weapon, a genuine outswinger. In this case, it was a wild one, which missed the keeper and caused much confusion, resulting in Karun Nair's (86) run out. Eden bowled 21 off Kerala's 86 overs on day one. "Great comeback by the kid," Sony said.