Reboot, revamp, rebuild: Karnataka need to look at fresh talent

BENGALURU: Eight players were handed Karnataka caps in the Ranji Trophy championship this season, which somewhat qualifies the tag of Mayank Agarwal's side being a 'team in transition'. It, perhaps, justified the team's performance too - a brief appearance in the knockout round - but it did not confirm progress. The team had far more lows than highs. The obvious scapegoats will be the players, some of whose performances were rank bad, but the thought process of the team think-tank and the KSCA selection committee too comes into sharp focus.The selectors overhauled the spin department, easing senior spinner K Gowtham out of the red-ball scheme of things and letting go of seasoned leggie Shreyas Gopal at the beginning of the season. While their intentions may have been above board, the players chosen in their stead were clearly unprepared to weather the grind of senior-team cricket.On more than one occasion during the eight matches, youngsters were thrown under the bus or dropped without a contingency plan in place. Four of the eight rookies were spinners picked on the strength of their performances in age-group cricket. What they clearly didn't have was the experience of playing with and against senior players.The lack of exposure was glaring and pointed squarely at administrative flaws. After the 2019-2020 season, the Capt K Thimmappiah Memorial tournament, a premier red-ball competition, has not been held. The tournament, a prelude to the Ranji Trophy season, tested seasoned and promising players of other state teams as well."Talent pools have depleted after the introduction of T20 cricket," said J Arun Kumar, the champion coach, who marshalled Karnataka to back-to-back trebles. "Bowlers train to bowl tight, smart and concentrate on restricting runs, which has affected their wicket-taking ability in four-day games. Going into a Ranji Trophy season, the Thimmappiah Memorial helped us experiment and assess players since the level of competition was akin to Ranji. That's what has been lacking in the last couple of seasons."Hardik Raj, 17, emerged as the brightest prospect from the KSCA experimental lab this season. Rohit Kumar AC was given three matches to show his skills before being dropped, while Shubhang Hegde, who led the spin attack at the beginning of the season with a four-match experience, erred one too many times and lacked confidence. After being dropped from the Ranji squad, the 22-year-old wasn't considered for the U-23 squad either.BATTING SHOWAcross teams, 10 players scored more than 600 runs this season, but the highest for Karnataka was Devdutt Padikkal's 556, coming from five matches. The southpaw was in sensational form, and he rightly earned an India 'A' and subsequently a maiden India call-up into the Test squad. Most others only flattered to deceive. Skipper Mayank Agarwal (468), Manish Pandey (480) and R Samarth (341), the senior pros in the line-up, did not step up when the team needed them the most. Pandey did play a defining innings in the win against Railways, but all three were guilty of gifting their wickets at crucial junctures, with the quarterfinals against Vidarbha bearing testimony. Samarth looked a pale shadow of himself, and his lack of confidence and form cannot be hidden behind a couple of umpiring decisions which went against him. The decision to make Nikin Jose Agarwal's deputy probably buried his batting prowess under the weight of responsibilities and last season's breakthrough performer turned into a liability.PACERS WHO ACEDThe pace trio – Vyshak Vijaykumar, Vidwath Kaverappa and V Koushik- were the standout performers for the team, picking up 92 wickets between them. Vyshak had a breakthrough season, claiming 39 wickets and contributing 343 runs to push his case as an all-rounder. Karnataka making it to the quarterfinals was largely on the strength of the pace pack's brilliance.With a lot of youngsters coming through from the U-23 and U-19 categories, KSCA will have to get their act together, channelize their resources and rebuild Karnataka cricket. After all, for a one-time powerhouse to go nearly a decade without a Ranji title is as glaring as India's inability to wear a global crown since 2013.HOW THE DEBUTANTS FAREDKarnataka handed a record eight caps this season. While some showed promise, the others highlighted the need to go back and work on their basics.Hardik RajAge: 17The left-arm spinner and middle-order batter was the most promising among the debutants. He earned his cap following an impressive run in the Cooch Behar Trophy U-19 tournament which Karnataka won.The 17-year-old, who showed consistency, is yet to develop variation in his bowling. As a batter, he showcased impressive temperament and game awareness in crunch situations. He's a talent to watch out for in the future.M: 5; Runs: 223; HS: 82; 50s: 2; Wkts: 15; BBI: 4/56; Eco: 2.86KV AneeshAge: 22The right-hand batter was picked following his red-hot form in the Col CK Nayudu Trophy U-23 tournament, where he scored 501 runs in four matches including four centuries. But he failed to replicate the form, scoring 138 runs in six innings.M: 4; Runs: 138; HS: 40.Kishan BedareAge: 25Bedare made the cut when Manish Pandey and D Nischal were ruled out of the match against Tripura owing to injury. He made an impressive debut with scores of 62 and 42 in a tricky match, but his form dipped in the subsequent two matches.M: 3; Runs: 133; HS: 62; 50s:1Suraj SateriAge: 24The wicketkeeper-bat made his lone appearance in the six-run defeat against Gujarat. The team management went back to Sharath Srinivas after that match.M: 1; Runs: 33; HS: 31AC Rohit KumarAge: 23The left-arm spinner made his debut in the season opener against Punjab, but found himself out of favour with the team management after three matches. One of the aspects of his game which worked against Rohit was his deliveries were slower and his action during ball release odd.M: 3; Runs: 28; HS: 22 n.o; Wkts: 14; BBI: 3/61; Eco: 3.31K Shashi KumarAge: 22Shashikumar went wickless in his first match against Tripura and played the last two league matches thereafter. Was dropped from the squad at a time when he could have been utilised.M: 3; Wkts: 6; BBI 3/41, Economy 2.35; Runs: 28; HS: 19Deeraj GowdaAge: 17The teenage off spinner was the captain of the U-19 Cooch Behar-winning team but that was not reason enough to play him in the quarterfinals against Vidarbha. His lack of experience and the pressure of the big stage was apparent and he wasn't given the ball in the second innings.M: 1; Runs: 7; HS: 5; Wkts: 1; BBI: 1/76; Eco: 4