IPL 2022: Meet KKR’s Ramesh Kumar, Jalalabad’s tennis-ball cricket star who is compared to Sunil Narine
Historically known for their love for mystery spin, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) seem to have added another notable and exciting practitioner of the art to their squad for the forthcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Ramesh Kumar.
Kumar, 23, is a spin bowling allrounder from Jalalabad, who was, interestingly, enlisted in the final list of players in IPL 2022 Mega Auction as an uncapped batter but is being talked about since the end of the bidding war for his ability to turn the ball both ways.
The left-armer was bagged by KKR for INR 20 lakhs at the auction despite having not played any form of representative cricket, which shocked fans and experts. But Ramesh Kumar is a product of the strong tennis ball scene in Punjab and KKR’s well-resourced scouting team.
The mystery element of Kumar’s bowling is what has attracted the KKR think-tank towards him. The ability to indecipherably mix his normal away going ball to the right-hander with the one that comes back in sharply has also brought about a moniker “Narine Jalalabadiya”, which is an obvious reference to KKR’s longstanding mystery spinner Sunil Narine.
Ramesh Kumar was picked by KKR for IPL 2022 without having played any senior domestic cricket. (pic courtesy: Twitter/ESPNcricinfo)
KKR’s next ‘Sunil Narine’, Ramesh Kumar
Ramesh Kumar is famous on the internet for his exciting pieces of his bowling clips and batting videos over Youtube. So much so that his bowling attracts the moniker that upholds comparison with Narine. Kumar understands that this comparison has come about because of his action, which resembles that of the experienced West Indies off-spinner, as he told ESPNcricinfo.
Coming from a family where his father does the job of a cobbler and mother sells make-up products, Kumar says the bid from KKR has changed his life. Apart from the financial aspect of it, the cricketer feels excited about the learnings that he could gather and the opportunity to push for selection at the senior domestic level.
“This selection has changed my whole life,” he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “It has given me a platform. I have never played first-class cricket but I am sure the door for the Ranji Trophy will also open up from here.”
Today when cricket is everything for Kumar, he remembers the time when his parents would ask him to focus instead on securing a job that would help him make ends meet. The cricketer recalls having to lie to his family to play the local tennis-ball tournaments that he would invariably be invited to. It is these tournaments that would help pay for Kumar’s educational expenses and eventually help him complete his graduation.
Seeing him absolutely nail it in tennis-ball cricket, friends and close confidants asked Ramesh Kumar to try his hand at season-ball cricket and see how far his love for the game could take him. As it turned out, without any proper coaching, he was soon selected to play district cricket for Moga.
While there, Kumar impressed the state selectors so much that they called him on board for a camp ahead of the 2020-21 domestic season. It is during this camp that he met the hero of his cricketing life: veteran middle-order batter Gurkeerat Singh Mann, who has played three ODIs for India. Speaking to the experienced cricketer with honesty, Kumar told Mann about his financial condition. Mann promised to help in whatever way he could but also encouraged Kumar to be his own man and perform consistently.
At Mann’s behest, the young gun got a chance to feature for Minerva Cricket Academy in the JP Atray Memorial Cricket Tournament. In his very first game for the Academy, Kumar took a five-fer (5/35). He backed that up with figures of 4 for 32 in the next match.
Mann, who was impressed by what he saw, sent the footage of Kumar’s bowling to Mumbai stalwart and KKR’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. After a nod of approval from Nayar, KKR called Kumar for trials and asked him to bowl his heart out. Months later, he is now part of their first-choice IPL squad.
Through his IPL stint, Kumar wants to make a place in Punjab’s Ranji Trophy squad and one day, fulfil his dream to represent India. “The ultimate goal is, of course, to play for India,” he said. “And none of this would have been possible without God’s grace and Gurkeerat paaji’s help.”