UAE hat-trick man Karthik Meiyappan back home to find place in TN, IPL sides

CHENNAI: In an era when quite a few budding Indians have been moving to greener pastures to realise their dream of playing international cricket, former UAE leg-spinner Karthik Meiyappan has taken a “gamble” to return to his homeland and “explore opportunities” here.
Karthik, who bagged a hat-trick against Sri Lanka in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, came back to Tamil Nadu last year, with the ambition of representing the state and featuring in the IPL. The 24-year-old recently took the first big step towards achieving his targets after being picked up by Madurai Panthers in the Tamil Nadu Premier League auction.
“I always wanted to come back to India, ever since I picked up cricket while growing up in Dubai. I felt that this would be the right time for me to move and give my best. Obviously, I was playing international cricket, but I wanted to take a risk to play in TN. 100%, that is the reason I made the return to Chennai (possibility of playing for TN and in the IPL),” Karthik, representing Alwarpet CC in the TNCA first division, told TOI.
The leggie turned to former UAE head coach Robin Singh for advice when weighing up his options. “I had the thought for quite some time. It took me time to arrive at a decision. I played a lot under Robin, he is my mentor as well. I had chats with him. We both thought that it would be best for me to move back to Chennai,” Karthik added.
Having gained much-needed experience in the one-day and T20 formats – via his involvement in international tournaments and leagues – Karthik is looking at the TN circuit as a “platform” to improve his red-ball game. “I only played white-ball cricket in the UAE, I never had the exposure of playing multi-day cricket. It has been exciting to play red-ball cricket; it took me some time to understand the multi-day concept and pick up the details. I have made progress over time,” said Karthik, who has turned out for Alwarpet in three long-format matches so far.
‘Ready to compete with fellow spinners’: Karthik is well aware of the fierce competition for places among spinners in TN and is ready to battle it out.
“The standard of cricket in the state is extremely high. There are a lot of spinners over here; it is a challenge to compete with them. Where there is challenge, there is growth. I am looking at the positive side of it (competition),” Karthik said.
“In general, leg-spinners are a rare commodity. If I put in the performances, they could lead to more opportunities and could open doors for me.”