Taking over a seasoned cricketer’s spot in the playing XI comes with a huge responsibility. With the veteran left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi nearer to retirement from first-class cricket than ever, fellow spinner C. Raghavendra is all but waiting for the opportunity to break into the state side.
“If I get an opportunity to play this season, I should utilise it. I’ll have to shoulder a big responsibility,” said the Mysore lad. Better known as Ragi in the cricket fraternity, the soft-spoken spinner made his Ranji Trophy debut against Railways at home in 2004. “I took a four-wicket haul in my last Ranji Trophy game against Maharashtra in 2005. We won the match by an innings and eight runs,” he explained.
For someone who was successful, it was frustrating to watch from the sidelines. The next season, Raghavendra played just two Ranji matches against Railways and Mumbai and after that he was a forgotten entity, until now.
“It has been more than four years since I last played a Ranji match. I’ve been waiting eagerly for the opportunity. I’m fit and raring to perform now,” said the Vijaya Bank cricketer, who took 29 wickets in the KSCA Group I, I Division league this year for Jawahar Sports Club.
The 28-year-old Raghavendra believes the competition for a left-arm spinner has been growing since the last few seasons. “There are 3-4 good left-arm spinners in the camp. It’s a good sign actually. There will be healthy competition and you make an attempt to give your best shot,” said the Mysore Maharaajas player.
Coming from a middle-class family, Raghavendra started his career as a fast bowler for the Mysore-based Jai Hind Cricket Club. “As a fast bowler, I was among the top wicket takers in the U-19 zone tournament for Mysore during 1998-99 season.”
But destiny had different ideas. “I used to play for BEML, Mysore in the league in 1999-00. There were many pacers in the team. I was asked to bowl spin and took three wickets in that match,” said. From then on, there was no looking back. “I played U-25, MRF Trophy (now KSCA All-India), Shafi Darashah and other tournaments,” he said.
With a bagful of wickets in almost all KSCA tournaments, the consistent bowler has shown maturity while being a standout performer. “Now we have a month-long camp and I’ll play according to match situations just to be mentally strong and keep working hard on improving my game,” he concluded.