With the IPL kicking off in two months, cricket aficionados from the state are not just gearing up to cheer for their favourite teams, but are also rooting for our bombaat Karnataka cricketers, who will play the tournament. Biggies like KL Rahul and Manish Pandey managed to fetch huge amounts and players like Krishnappa Gowtham too struck gold at the auctions. Here’s a lowdown on our players, who will be part of the Indian Premier League…
KL Rahul: Team India’s stylish batsman had a field day at the auctions where he was bought for a whopping 11 crore by Kings XI Punjab. The Mangalore lad, who was with RCB last IPL, couldn’t showcase his skills, thanks to his injury. Techie Rakshith Ponnathpur, says, “At RCB, he was always overshadowed by Gayle, ABD and Virat. Now that he’s in a relatively young batting line-up and has fetched almost a dozen crores, all eyes are on him. He’s been in and out of the limited-overs set up and with a good IPL, he has the opportunity to cement his place.”
Manish Pandey: This Bengaluru bloke will be hitting big shots for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who picked him up for a massive 11 crore bucks. As someone who’s in and out of the ODI squad, it remains to be seen if he can prove his mettle this summer.
Vinay Kumar R: Vinay Kumar R: The Karnataka skipper is back with Kolkata Kight Riders who bought him for Rs 1 crore. “Being one of the only four Indian pacers to have taken over 100 wickets in IPL and the player with the most credible captaincy record in KKR, he should get more games than he has previously,” opines data scientist Adithya Krishna.
Stuart Binny:
Having been part of team RCB last year, this all-rounder was lapped up by his previous team RR for Rs 50 lakh this season.
Karun Nair: This Mayalali boy, who captained the State in the Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy is someone to watch out for in team Punjab, who bought him for Rs 5.60 crores. “He’s a free-flowing stroke maker. He gave us a glimpse of his T20 skills, with two hundreds in the SMAT. Karun, on his da,y can tear any bowling unit apart. All he needs is a bit of consistency,” feels software engineer Ramachandra M.
Mayank Agarwal: The explosive batsman who had a phenomenal Ranji season, will join his Karnataka buddies Rahul and Karun in KXIP, who bought him for Rs 1 crore. Expectations are high from this youngster who will be keen on continuing his brilliant form this season.
Gowtham K Yadav: Known as Bhajji in local circles, this cricketer’s 6.20 crore bid by Rajasthan Royals stunned many. “He’s a pinch hitter and can bowl his spin well. Over the years, Rajasthan has relied on promising Indian all -rounders and he has all it takes to fit that role. Gowtham’s been Karnataka’s best performer in domestic cricket across all the formats in the last few years,” says Ramachandra.
Aniruddha Joshi: RCB finally found a local flavor when they bagged this all-rounder for Rs 20 lakh. “I was pretty surprised to see RCB pick up a Karnataka player, but Aniruddha is a good pick. He bailed out Karnataka from tough spots in the SMAT. He can be the X-factor, provided he gets games,” says Adithya.
Pavan Deshpande: This lad is the other Karnataka all-rounder to join team RCB for 20 lakh. Here’s hoping he gets to shine in his home team.
Robin Uthappa: KKR used RTM to buy this bisi bisi uthappa who’s provided several memorable knocks over the years in the IPL. Uthappa, who now plays for Saurashtra in domestic cricket was sold for Rs 6.4 crore. “With no strong captain candidate in KKR, his experience will definitely be valuable,” says Adithya.
