Ranji Trophy: Former Amazon executive V Koushik making up for lost time with Karnataka

Vasuki Koushik remembers the time — nearly a decade ago — when he took up late night shifts at Amazon just so he could play cricket in the morning. In his early 20s and yet to graduate to zonal cricket, he didn’t have much choice. Cricket — his boyhood love since the time he played with a plastic bat and ball with his father in the Yelahanka railway quarters — was still plan A. But that in itself wasn’t enough.

“Coming from a middle class family, you need to have a backup,” he tells The Indian Express as his prime reason behind taking a longer route to make a profession out of his passion. Hence, the mechanical engineering course from Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering in Bengaluru, a year working in the corporate world, and eight years and counting as an employee at Central Tax and Customs. “It was never one thing at a time. During engineering, I did not play a lot of club matches because it was clashing with my exams, which is why they never picked me for zonals. When I had Karnataka Premier League games, I used to take up night shifts. Corporate jobs don’t give you additional leaves for playing. It took a toll on my body,” he says.

Reminiscing on the days of hard grind in early 2024, the 31-year-old sits as one of the standout performers at the start of the Ranji season after an impressive outing in the Duleep Trophy final. It was Koushik’s seven wicket burst on day one of the Ranji Trophy season which put Karnataka in position to snatch a win against Punjab. With just 10 first-class games under his belt, the late bloomer has come good with 49 wickets.

“I believe few things are destined to happen,” Koushik says. “If given a chance, I’d be thinking three to four times before redoing this. If you ask me, my prime was between 2014-2020, when I was 22-28. I lost a good three-four years. But the competition was very high until 2018-19. You had three of the greatest fast bowlers who have played for the Karnataka side – the batch of R Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun and Sreenath Aravind. It was only after they retired or went away from the game that we got a chance.”

Vasuki Koushik with Prasidh Krishna

There’s another reason, Koushik believes, that might have delayed his arrival on the domestic scene. A lower back issue that he suffered when he was 17 meant he had to cut down on pace when he played in the KPL. Mostly operating below 130kmph, he was deemed a bit slow. To make up for the lack of pace, he would focus on accuracy, taking a cue out of his idol Glenn McGrath. “I started developing other skills… being accurate, trying to swing the ball instead of going for pace. It was about discovering what works for me and I was getting wickets. Last two years, I’ve been the highest wicket-taker for Karnataka in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the last Ranji season, I played five matches and picked up 24 wickets. At the end of the day, that is what matters.”

A KPL product

Having missed out on the zonal and junior age group state cricket, Koushik credits the state’s T20 league as his big launchpad into the senior team. “Guys like KC Cariappa, who was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders for a huge amount. He was a revelation at the time. In 2018, when I was picked for the state team, it was based on my performance in the KPL, where I was the most economical seamer. Our team also made it to the finals,” says Koushik, who first featured in the KPL during the 2010 season for Shamanur Davangere Diamonds.

Double strike! ✌️

What a start for Karnataka! 2 wickets in the first 2 overs 👌👌

Vasuki Koushik & Vijaykumar Vyshak with the wickets of Abhijeet Tomar & Ram Chouhan respectively.

Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/Zvqm6l7cL2@IDFCFIRSTBank | #VijayHazareTrophy pic.twitter.com/tW8dsK8ctP

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) December 14, 2023

“I feel that in the last four or five years, this has been the trend. People who have done well in KPL have got into the senior team directly.”

Landmark season

These are exciting times for Karnataka cricket. Koushik tells us of what the year — 50th since the state’s first-ever Ranji Trophy season — holds for the team, especially the pace attack.

Reminiscing on the days of hard grind in early 2024, the 31-year-old sits as one of the standout performers at the start of the Ranji season after an impressive outing in the Duleep Trophy final.

“In the last few seasons, Karnataka has been losing in the knockouts, we want to go one step forward and win the title this time. We have a very young bowling lineup in terms of experience. I’ve just played my 10th first class game, Vyshak (Vijay Kumar) has played 13, Vidwath (Kaverappa) has 15. In the spin department, we have two new spinners. So we hardly have a total of 50 matches together.”

While Karnataka started off with a win at home, in Hubballi, it will get tougher for them with four out of their remaining group games to be played away from home including the one starting against Gujarat in Ahmedabad on Friday. However, Koushik is confident that with the current lot, the team can win their first title since the 2014/15 season.

“I feel Mayank Agarwal is very similar to Virat Kohli in the way he brings his energy to the table. I think he believes in his fast bowlers more than his spinners. He knows pacers are the X-factors in the team,” Koushik says.

“We have been doing well, touchwood, hope it continues. Prasidh Krishna, who has been doing good with the India team, will be coming back for our next game against Gujarat. We have a couple of other bowlers as well who are waiting for their chance. M Venkatesh and Abhilash Shetty have done well in the KPL. They’re trying to push us and we’re doing well to keep our place,” adds Koushik.

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