K’taka cricket: A year to forget for veterans, one to talk about for the youngsters
Bengaluru: The year 2024 for Karnataka is a mixed bag. As its youngsters make their breakthroughs and get the maiden age group titles, its veterans have run out of ideas to propel to the glories they saw in their hey-day. It will be a forgettable 12 months for the team led by Mayank Agarawal, which did not even make it to the knockouts of white-ball tournaments. Their 23-24 Ranji campaign ended at the pre-quarters stage, at the hands of Vidarbha.
It was under the impression that the team is undergoing a transition that senior players like Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravikumar Samarth and BR Sharath were ousted, and young players like Smaran R, Hardik Raj were brought in. However a few youngsters were not given a run of games, therefore not giving them the chance to show their prowess in the game. Although this cut-chop method may benefit Karnataka in the short-term, the purpose of this “transistion period” may not materialise for the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Later into the year, Karnataka’s first leg of the Ranji Trophy’s league stage was underwhelming too.
With Yere Goud returning to the head coach’s seat for the second time, results seem to have stagnated, with the rain-interrupted matches not helping them with points in a tough group. There were instances where the team settled for a draw when there was a clear opportunity to win.
The game at UP for example, where Karnataka had to to score 261 runs to win, the decision to bring on bowling allrounder Shreyas Gopal earlier instead of bighitter Abhinav Manohar raised question marks over the team’s intent. With two more games remaining, Karnataka’s chances of qualifying for the knockouts remains close to nil.
Youngsters knock on the doors of Sr team- Karnataka’s maiden titles in the C K Nayudu Trophy and the Cooch Behar trophy brought pride amongst the cricketing fraternity. Record breaking knocks from Prakhar Chaturvedi, and Macneil Noronha has put them in the contention for a senior cap, which should be a matter of time and consistency.
The likes of Smaran, KL Shrijith, KV Aneesh and Hardik Raj are also on the contention to permanently cement their places in the senior squad and with their talent, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they bring Karnataka to the main foray, maintaining their legacy as eight time Ranji Trophy winners.