You’ve seen them display their on-field skills for Karnataka and now, you can watch them as they bowl cricket buffs over with their A game. RCB may have missed out on hiring some fantastic cricketers from Karnataka but our team’s loss is other squads’ gain when it comes to having our state players. While batsman KL Rahul just made his maiden IPL century for Kings XI Punjab against Mumbai, he also had a fantastic partnership with his Bengaluru mate Mayank Agarwal, where both of them made half-centuries against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Namma lad Shreyas Gopal too has been taking a good number of wickets for his team Rajasthan Royals. With our state players shining in the IPL, cricket buffs are keenly following their performances.
It’s been a mixed season so far for our lads playing in the IPL. While Rahul, Mayank and Shreyas have had a decent IPL so far, the likes of Manish Pandey and K Gowtham have disappointed. If we count Robin Uthappa (he has been playing for Saurashtra), he has delivered a couple of valuable cameos too. Prasidh Krishna has shown glimpses of brilliance, but has been inconsistent and a tad expensive at times. He’s the pacer who has to be groomed and given ample opportunities to grow at the domestic level. Disappointing that Karun Nair hasn’t gotten a game yet so far, says cricket aficionado Rakshith Ponnathpur, who believes that KL Rahul would have been a good pick for RCB. “He’d have been a reliable opener who can play circumspect as well as aggressive cricket. His presence would have meant Kohli plays at his natural position. Shreyas too could have played at 7/8. He is an effective wrist spinner who can also bat. We could have tried experimenting him as a pinch hitter too.”
Talking about how this IPL has been fantastic for some of our boys, Karnataka cricketer Akanksha Kohli says, “Prasidh’s debut IPL has been pretty impressive, he is clocking 140 +kmph consistently and has become a regular member of the KKR side. Mayank and Rahul are continuing their fantastic run for Kings XI.
Shreyas has always been a regular in the playing 11 and this time a dream spell against RCB, he has definitely cemented a place for the rest of the tour.
Robin’s been an integral part of KKR for many years now, though he didn’t have a great domestic season, he’s making it up in this IPL.” Akansha too maintains that picking some of our state players could’ve helped RCB immensely. “The likes of Prasidh and KL would’ve made a big difference in the winning combinations. Looking at the way our fielding has been, Manish too would have been very handy with the bat as well as on the field. It’s time for our bench strength to be tested and show their calibre,” she says.
RCB Diva Wafa Mehreen is all support for all-rounder Shreyas Gopal who’s been spinning for RR. “2019 has been a fruitful season for Shreyas with the ball.
His contributions have had a significant bowling attack making him one of the highest wicket takers this season. The first game between RCB and RR seemed a nightmare to the former team as Shreyas managed to grab two very crucial wickets (Captain Virat Kohli and Mr. 360, Ab de Villiers) Bagging three wickets against SRH, he again played a key part for the Royals. Let’s wait and watch is his consistent crafty wrist spin will bring about a spin in his career!” she says.
