Ranji Trophy 2023-24: Late bloomer Koushik cherishes purple patch after record wicket-haul against Punjab

Koushik, having made his first-class debut in his late twenties, stole the spotlight in the Karnataka vs Punjab Ranji Trophy match with seven wickets for 41 runs.

Age is just a number: The speedster, at 31, broke into the Karnataka squad very late but is ‘enjoying this phase’ of successful bowling spells. | Photo Credit: Murali Kumar K / The Hindu

V. Koushik is a late-bloomer. He once had a corporate job and made his First Class debut only at 27, against Tamil Nadu in December 2019. And after that, he played just eight red-ball matches until the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy opener Punjab that began here on Friday.

With a career-best seven-wicket haul (7/41) he is seemingly making up for lost time.

This process had in fact started last season when he played five Ranji Trophy matches and picked up 24 wickets. In the last two Vijay Hazare Trophy campaigns, he has picked up 18 wickets each, and he had a match-haul of five wickets in the Duleep Trophy final that South Zone won in July 2023.

“I am very happy with my performance,” Koushik said on Friday, “I bowled well last year and was just hoping to have a good start this time. The rhythm was good and we had a good preparatory camp and everything came together.”

Karnataka has always been a tough team for a new fast bowler to break into, with the likes of R. Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun and S. Aravind playing for long years. Even in the current set-up, there are Vidwath Kaverappa and V. Vyshak, and M. Venkatesh as back-up. Koushik, though, stated that he has enjoyed the challenge.

“From 22 to 26, I didn’t play a lot of matches,” the 31-year-old said when asked if he could have debuted earlier. “I sat out nearly 13 to 14 matches in a row in Thimmappaiah [Memorial tournament, a red-ball preparatory competition].

“Probably a break there would have helped me. But nevertheless, a debut is a debut, at any age, and I am now enjoying this phase.”