Bengaluru, August 19: When Kolkata Knight Riders made a Rs 2.4 crore bid for KC Cariappa in the Indian Premier League auction, it was natural that so many doubted the wisdom of the move. The leg-spinner was subsequently dropped next year and Kings XI Punjab picked him up for a less fancied Rs 80 lakh.
In this 2017 IPL season, the Bengaluru cricketer picked up four wickets for Punjab in as many matches and now the 23-year-old is set to take that experience to the sixth edition of the Karnataka Premier League for the Bijapur Bulls. But his ultimate aim is to play in the longer format for the state.
"I haven't played four-day cricket for Karnataka since the U-23 four-day game. I am still waiting for the chance to play in the Ranji Trophy. After the KPL, we've Ranji Trophy coming up. Last year, I played T20s for Karnataka. This year, I want to play the four-dayers and all the formats. I'm working hard in practice," he said.
The tag of mystery spinner apart, Cariappa said he trains hard at nets before every game to implement his plans.
"I plan everything in practice. Everything from what variations to bowl, what lines and lengths, the pace ... everything is thoroughly practised and planned before executing in the match. We'll also have to improvise during the match, but most of it is planned so that we can be ready for the match," he said.
Cariappa said the experience of playing in the KPL helped him adjust to the pressures of the IPL better.
Yes, to a large extent. We had to deal with a lot of pressure playing at different levels in Karnataka to get into the KPL, where we faced more pressure. So by the time I played the IPL, pressure was something I was used to. By the time I played in the KPL again, there was a lot less pressure."