Suchith making most of his chance

It’s definitely frustrating for a player to wait for his turn despite being on top of his game. Karnataka’s J Suchith, who has just played eight first-class games since bursting on to the scene in the 2014-15 season, understands the importance of showing patience.

The left-arm spinner, over the last two years, had to remain on the bench as Karnataka fielded the pair of K Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal. The duo’s impressive show last season meant Karnataka wouldn’t look for a change in combination. But Gowtham’s inclusion in the India ‘A’ squad for the tour of New Zealand opened the doors for Suchith again. The Mysuru boy lapped up the chance with a three-wicket haul here against Vidarbha on Monday.

“It’s been really difficult for me in the last couple of years,” said Suchith. “I have been part of the squad but didn’t get a chance to play. That’s what happens if you have two good spinners like Gowtham and Shreyas. It’s difficult to explain what I have gone through in the last two years. I used to see my performance graph go up in the KSCA leagues but wouldn’t get a game. It’s definitely hard,” said Suchith, who last played a Ranji game two years ago.

Even as he longed for his opportunity, Suchith said he worked hard on different aspects of his bowling. “We have a good league structure in Karnataka that helps us to stay in touch with the game. So I was always ready skill-wise and mentally to perform. I added a couple of things to my bowling. I changed my run up, I used to run diagonally but now I run straight. I started bowling different trajectory at the nets. I have good control over my speed now,” explained the 24-year-old.

With Gowtham expected to miss a major portion of the group stage, Karnataka will look for Suchith to deliver and it remains to be seen if he remains consistent.