Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Karnataka banks on youth to make up for lack of experience

Defending champion Karnataka has three key batsmen - Manish Pandey, K.L. Rahul and Mayank Agarwal - missing in action. While regular skipper Pandey is out due to an injury, Rahul and Mayank are away with the Indian Test team.

Karnataka coach Yere Goud with K. V. Siddharth during a nets session.

Defending champion Karnataka enters the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy on the back foot, with three key batsmen - Manish Pandey, K.L. Rahul and Mayank Agarwal - missing in action. While regular skipper Pandey is out due to an injury, Rahul and Mayank are away with the Indian Test team.

This puts the onus on the younger players to step up and be counted. The likes of middle-order batsman K.V. Siddharth must share the load - a task he is happy to accept. “It is a lot of responsibility, but their absence is a huge opportunity for us to showcase Karnataka's bench strength,” Siddharth said in a media interaction here.

 

Siddharth is yet to make a mark in the shortest format, having represented Karnataka in only two Twenty20s. The 28-year-old is raring to go, having made a full recovery from a shoulder surgery performed in May 2020. “Personally, the lockdown proved to be a blessing in disguise. The break gave me time to do the surgery, rehab and regain my fitness,” Siddharth said.

 

The Karnataka players are currently in a seven-day quarantine ahead of the start of the tournament at Alur grounds here on January 10. “Seven days is a lot of time. We have a program designed - we are following it, and we are being monitored online. That helps us keep in shape. It also gives us time to do some shadow practice and watch videos of our previous matches,” Siddharth said.

 

The side, however, is not short on match practice, having competed in two KSCA inter-club limited-overs tournaments in the last couple of months. “I think we are the only state in the country to conduct two tournaments in such a short period. We must hand it to KSCA for doing such a wonderful job in such testing circumstances. How much ever we practise, nothing compares to going out there and competing in a match. Since most of us played these tournaments, it has helped us to get into the competition frame of mine ahead of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s. Most of the IPL players too came back and played the league tournament. The more games we play, the more advantageous it is for us,” Siddharth said.