Pacer Jagannathan Kaushik makes it count

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The biggest gain for Tamil Nadu this season was undoubtedly the rise of medium pacer Jagannathan Kaushik.

Kaushik’s inclusion in the team was long overdue and full credit to the team management for not wasting the seamer to the benches.

The numbers compared favourably but what was more heartening was the fact Kaushik showed the heart for long spells, sometimes even on unresponsive tracks.

“I could not have asked for more in my debut season. There was a lot to learn to learn from my captain L. Balaji. He was easily the biggest influence and I understood the importance of working as a unit. Having a player of Balaji’s experience stand at mid-off helped me a great deal.

Sometimes it is not wickets against your name but how well you can forge a partnership with the other bowlers,” said Kaushik.

For a predominant in-swing bowler, Kaushik made rapid strides in terms of adding variety to his craft. Getting closer to the wicket helped in developing the out-swinger and the delivery that straightened. “The moment I made that change things looked different. I was able to create more doubts in the batsmen’s mind. At the first-class level it is extremely important to get the ball to leave the right-hander,” explained the 26-year-old.

The last three seasons saw Kaushik pick more than 100 wickets in the TNCA senior division league. The youngster could have been frustrated at times but continued to hang in well. “At the start of the season I knew there was a good chance to break in and I started working consciously on my release and run up.

Having made the squad last season I knew the wait will not last forever,” added Kaushik.
The maiden Ranji Trophy season turned out to be near unbelievable for the hard-working pacer.

Kaushik needs to continue in the same vein to make a bigger impact. “Everything went to plan but to lose the final was a major disappointment. To make the South Zone team (Duleep Trophy) was a dream come true. I could not have asked for more.

This is my sixth season in senior division and all that experience made me understand nothing comes easy. I am ready for the hard yards,” said Kaushik who finished the first class season with a even bag of 30 wickets at an impressive average of 23.63.

After the good run in Ranji, Kaushik was expected to make the team in the Vijay Hazare Trophy but unfortunately failed to get a game. His natural length makes for a good longer duration bowler but Kaushik will only learn more with exposure, especially the ability to create opportunities against quality attacking batsmen.