Shreyas Gopal.
Credit: DH file photo
Bengaluru: Three seasons ago, Shreyas Gopal's career was at a crossroads. After being a pivotal figure in the Karnataka setup for almost a decade, he was suddenly not a preferred choice across all three formats that forced to make a move to Kerala. To add to the woes, he had also lost his IPL contract.
And that left the Bengaluru boy with two options to choose from – enjoy playing while also trying to prove his worth or ponder over the opportunities that he had not capitalised on.
While many would have faded away, the battle-hardened leg-spinner knew what he wanted and has been a different player since.
During his time for Kerala, Shreyas picked up 16 wickets in six Ranji Trophy games and scored a century and a fifty. In the white-ball format, he picked up 12 wickets each in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Those performances went a long way in regaining the State’s faith in him. He, then, repaid the trust with brilliant white-ball outings for Karnataka the following season.
Now, at 32, in the middle of a superb run, the leg-spinner still nourishes the dream of playing for India and feels that he is "ready and prepared" to make the leap from the domestic stage to the international scene.
"I am definitely ready and prepared for that India call-up," Shreyas tells DH. "When it comes, I want to go out there and perform to the best of my ability. I am very excited if that call comes," he adds.
Shreyas has been in impeccable form this season in the Ranji Trophy and has picked up 27 wickets at an average of 17.51 with two five-fors, including an 8/110.
"The performance on a personal note has been good so far. Very happy with how it has gone with both bat and ball. But I'm more happy that we are on the top of the points table. I am eager to continue and take it a notch higher."
So what has he done differently from the past to get back to his best?
Keeping things simple, he says.
“Bowling longer spells in an innings (35 overs and above) with the same intensity can be daunting. But that is something I've been training in terms of volume during pre-season. When you go searching for wickets, you tend to bowl a lot of bad balls. That is something I have worked on, trying to keep things simple and very happy to pick up big five-wicket hauls.”
While he was always known for his technically sound abilities with the bat, the runs have also followed: 290 runs at an average of 57 with four fifties. However, Shreyas believes that a few of those fifties should have been converted into tons.
“I'm also disappointed that I could not make any of those 50s into 100s. It could have been a 100 and ten-wicket haul in the same game if I had converted in one of the games. That would have been something special for me.”
IPL has been a journey of patience and persistence for Shreyas. There have been good times, but they have been stretched by some seasons on the bench and some without a seat.
However, with Ravindra Jadeja moving out of the Chennai Super Kings and R Ashwin retired, a spinning all-rounder would be the buzzword around the CSK camp.
While Shreyas looks to continue pressing his case for higher honours, he does not want to think too far ahead and wants to control the controllables.
“I have not had any conversations with them yet, but if that opportunity presents itself, I am ready. The one thing I can control is turning up and working as hard as possible. But I am very excited to be a part of that squad.”