Some retiring and some migrating, Karnataka cricket going through a big churn

As in life, in sports too, time is unforgiving and change is inevitable. Nature functions on the law that the old must give way to the new. And so, Karnataka cricket is going through that churn now. The eight-time Ranji Trophy champions' transition began last season with the infusion of a few young batters and pacers, but the upcoming season is set to witness a complete overhaul of personnel. Well, almost.

There was a total restructuring of the pace attack a couple of seasons back following the phased retirements of Arvind Srinath, R Vinay Kumar and A Mithun. While the likes of Ronit More and V Koushik had been around, Karnataka needed a strong core to replicate the achievements of the trio of Srinath, Vinay and Mithun who formed arguably the best pace attack in domestic cricket for at least half a decade from the beginning of 2010. Vidwath Kaverappa and V Vyshak have successfully plugged the gaping hole left by their predecessors. With More and Koushik still around and the injured M Prasidh Krishna on the mend, Karnataka's pace attack appears sorted for the moment as they get ready for a fresh domestic season.

Also Read | Shreyas set for Kerala move; Siddharth and Kadam Goa-bound

The just concluded inter-zonal Duleep Trophy (multi-day format) and the ongoing Deodhar Trophy (50-over format) may have kicked off India's domestic season, but the inter-state events across all three formats - starting with the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament in mid-October - will be crucial for Karnataka as they decisively enter the transition phase while at the same time look to end their title drought. Their last title in any format came in the 2019-20 season when they won both the Vijay Hazare Trophy (50-over format) and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy under Manish Pandey.

While the revamping of the pace attack was necessitated by the retirements of Arvind, Vinay and Mithun, their middle-order batting and spin department will see fresh blood as some of the players have decided to migrate to other states in pursuit of better opportunities.

Though Karnataka wouldn't miss the services of the hard-hitting southpaw Rohan Kadam, who hasn't featured in the senior state side in any format for some time now, leg-spinning all-rounder Shreyas Gopal and middle-order batter KV Siddharth are the two high-profile exits that Karnataka will have to find the right replacements for, especially in the longer format. There is also talk that Karun Nair, who of course was left out the whole of last season, too may shift to Vidarbha.

The Karnataka State Cricket Association didn't want to let go of these players but it was also not willing to assure them a certain number of matches they were seeking for.
That leaves Karnataka with only batters Mayank Agarwal (32 years old), Pandey (33) and R Samarth (30) and off-spinning all-rounder K Gowtham (34) as the senior pros in the side. The quartet, it's clear, are closer to the end of its fruitful journey than the beginning but their experience and expertise - along with Devdutt Padikkal - will be critical as Karnataka herald their biggest transition in over a decade.

With Shreyas' exit, it leaves Pandey, Agarwal and KL Rahul, who most probably will not to be available for State duty, as the only surviving members from the highly decorated Karnataka side which won an unprecedented double treble (winning Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Irani Cup in 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons) with pacer Vinay at the helm. The team was teeming with such talent that Ganesh Satish, centurion in the 2013-14 final against Maharashtra, and Amit Verma, centurion in the semifinal against Punjab the same season, had to shift base to Vidarbha and Assam respectively as they saw fewer opportunities for themselves in Karnataka the following season. As many as eight players, excluding Robin Uthappa who had made his India debut much earlier, from that squad went on to play for India.

"We can't help if someone wants to leave (the state) for better opportunities," KSCA President and former India bowler Raghuram Bhat told DH. "We thank them for their services to the Karnataka team and wish them the very best going forward. Now, coming to the point, we have a lot of young talent available in the state and it's a chance for them to grab these vacant slots by performing in the various KSCA tournaments... Be it U-19 or U-23 inter-zonals or inter-state tournaments. If they perform well, there are berths waiting for them in the Ranji Trophy squad.

"After a long time, we are seeing a lot of competition among youngsters for slots and that only augurs well for Karnataka cricket. We need to hand places to players who have a genuine chance of playing for the country."

Last year, Karnataka blooded young batters Nikin Jose and Vishal Onat while giving starts to 22-year-old left-arm spinning all-rounder Shubhang Hegde, who made his first-class debut in 2019, three starts. Jose since then has gone on to successfully represent India A, justifying the faith the selectors invested in him. Onat, a prolific scorer in age-group tournaments, showed plenty of promise as did Hegde with both bat and ball. Hegde could be the strong contender to fill the slot left vacant by Shreyas.
Teams in transition often struggle to produce favourable results and that's when the selectors, captain and coach need to be patient and sensitive with the newcomers. Resorting to chopping and changing if results aren't on expected lines means insecurity among the group and lack of cohesiveness, which will be in nobody's interest.

Bhat underlined the importance of giving players a long rope to prove their worth. "They will be given a long run, of course. There are no two ways about it," he emphasised. "We can't judge a player after one or two matches, especially when he plays higher-grade cricket. We have to be patient and we will be giving clear advice to selectors and team management to adhere to this policy."

Whether this churn is for the better in the long run or for the worse in terms of immediate results, only time will tell. But change is inevitable.