After almost slipping through the cracks, owing to an abundance of talent in Karnataka cricket, Abhinav Manohar is suddenly the man in the spotlight.
Almost a fortnight after he became the most expensive buy (Rs 15 lakh) at the auctions of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 tournament, the hard-hitting batter was openly backed by newly appointed KSCA chief selector J Abhiram as one of the prime contenders for a spot in the Ranji Trophy squad for the season ahead.
“When Abhiram sir told me that his committee was seriously considering at handing me a Ranji Trophy Karnataka cap for the upcoming season, I was totally lost for words,” the 28-year-old, who first made big news when Gujarat Titans lapped him for Rs 2.60 crore at the 2022 IPL mega auction, told DH.
“Not often do selectors, especially the head of the committee, tell a player that they are one of the contenders. Considering the fact that I’ve been labelled as a white-ball player because of my aggressive style, it came as a surprise that I would be picked for red-ball cricket.
“Ever since I started playing cricket as a kid and went on to represent Karnataka at age group cricket, donning the Ranji Trophy cap in the Ranji Trophy has been my dream. After missing the bus during the crucial years, I finally feel my perseverance paying off. I want to perform exceedingly well in the upcoming KSCA tournaments after Maharaja Cup to strengthen my case. I can’t wait to wear the whites for Karnataka.”
Manohar, like many promising young cricketers in the State, couldn’t graduate to the senior level in his early 20s despite some decent outings at the age-group level. Karnataka then were blessed with exceptional batters, some who even went to make a name for themselves with the Indian team.
When available, players like KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair and R Samarth were automatic choices, meaning fresh faces had to be exceptionally good to stand a chance of getting even a look-in.
With time running out and his hopes diminishing with each passing season, Manohar switched his focus to white-ball cricket, hoping that could gather a second wind to his cricketing career.
An opener until then, he even demoted himself to the middle-order as he felt he was better at using the long handle against an older ball as opposed to a brand new one. The switch worked as he finally got a Karnataka call-up in 2021, first for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and then immediately for Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Titans’ talent scout liked of what they saw in Manohar and roped him in at the 2022 auctions, a move which changed Manohar’s life. “GT changed my life completely. Until then I was playing corporate cricket and just a handful of games for Karnataka. Then they gave me all the confidence in the world and I’ve had two good seasons with them. If not for GT, I am not sure what would have happened to my career,” he said.
Manohar says those hard moments have only made him tougher and he doesn’t fear failure anymore. “I’ve stopped taking pressure and started enjoying my cricket. At 24-25 I felt extremely disappointed that I couldn’t make it to the State side. That kept bogging me down. But by 26 I figured, enjoying cricket is what is important and things have been falling in place since.”