Suchith Jagadeesha: Such-a-hit on the pitch!

A Mysore huduga who made it to one of the most successful teams in the IPL, 23-year-old Suchith Jagadeesha’s journey is a special one. The cricketer, who plays for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, is gearing up to display his skills for the Mysuru Warriors in the KPL, which is set to start on September 1. “It’s going to be very exciting and different from all these years as it will be aired on Star Sports. So there’s going to be more views on a bigger stage. The tournament will also have different challenges, which I’m looking forward to,” he says.

Born in the city of palaces, Suchith was nine when he took to the game that he now pursues professionally. Having played for the Karnataka team in the under-13, 15,16,19,22, 23 and 25 and then the Ranji team, he says, “When I was 20, I made my list A debut against Punjab in the finals of the Vijay Hazare trophy. During the 2014 season of KPL, the Champions League was going on as well and MI was a part of it. There was a practice session going on and Anil (Kumble) sir asked me to bowl in the nets of MI where I bowled well. At my list A debut, Harbhajan was impressed with my bowling and that’s how I got into MI. The 2015 IPL was good for me as I played decently and we also won the tournament.” 

When he’s not playing with the bat or ball, he likes to chill out with his cricket buddies like Karun Nair, R Samarth and Shreyas Gopal and spends time just like any other bloke. “We hangout, go for lunches or keep ourselves busy with the playstation. We have a group that gets together to play football - we call ourselves the Spartans FC,” he smiles. Having moved to the ooru three years go, Suchith had a bit of a tough time getting used to the city. “KPL has helped me in a way, I had a very good season in 2014 where my team Mysuru won the tournament and I was also the best bowler in the series. Overall, life’s pretty good and I’m thankful for that,” he shares. 

An avid admirer of Kiwi all-rounder Daniel Vettori, this young man had his fan moment when he met his idol during the IPL. “Shane Warne was our bowling coach and I asked him if I could meet Vettori as it would be helpful for me. After the RCB game, I got to speak to him for around 40 minutes. I asked a lot of questions and his advice helped me a lot,” beams the lanky lad. 

As for his Mumbai mates, he’s good buddies with Mitchell McClenaghan with whom he’d hangout quite often and is pally with Lendl Simmons too and of course, Karnataka’s Shreyas Gopal. “Shreyas has been with me since my U-15 days. He’s also part of Mysuru Warriors and I’m looking forward to a good partnership with him.”