File Photo | Kumar Kartikeya
Kumar Kartikeya made his debut for Mumbai Indians in the match against Rajasthan Royals. The 24-year-old left-arm spinner picked up a wicket in his quota of 4 overs and gave away just 19 runs at an economy of 4.80.
The debut couldn't have come at a better time for Kumar as Mumbai Indians won their first match of the season that day. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Sanjay Bharadwaj, childhood coach of Kartikeya, talked about how he was just a regular spinner and learned the art of wrist spin just about six months ago.
"You saw him bowl left-arm wrist-spin, wrong'uns, finger-spin and even the carrom ball. You probably don't know that till about six months ago he was just a left-arm orthodox spinner", said Bharadwaj.
''Whenever he is free, he starts bowling in the nets," Bharadwaj said. "Many a time he comes back from matches in Indore late in the night and gets the lights on and spends the next two-three hours in the nets. His obsession has only grown in the last nine years", he added.
Sanjay revealed that Kartikeya didn't have the required money to pay for coaching, but after he saw him bowl just one delivery, he decided to coach him without any fees.
Kartikeya worked a night job in a factory, and reached training on foot in the morning so that he could have Rs 10/- for a packet of biscuits, revealed Sanjay. Looking at his struggles, Bharadwaj said he got him a room with academy's cook.
"When the cook gave him lunch, Kartikeya began to cry: he hadn't eaten lunch for a year.", said Sanjay.
Kartikeya has played 9 T20s in the domestic circuit, and took 10 wickets at an economy of 5.29. Watch out for this bloke in the future.
