आग जल उठा है: कर्थिक गट्टेपल्ली ने फिर से अपनी प्रतिभा को जगाया है

The Fire Rekindled: How Karthik Gattepalli Found His Spark Again

"My heartbeat must've been 200!" laughs Los Angeles Knight Riders' left-arm spinner Karthik Gattepalli, reflecting on his debut over in top-flight T20 cricket. The 25-year-old's introduction to the big stage was a cinematic emotional roller coaster. On his very first delivery, he dismissed Australia's in-form opener Matt Short to join the elite club of bowlers to take a wicket with their first ball in T20 cricket. Before the adrenaline could settle, he outfoxed Australia's rising sensation Jake Fraser-McGurk, to send himself into a frenzy again.

"The very first over that I bowled in MLC, I was gassed. To play at that level, that's what it takes. If I was playing any of the other tournaments, yes, the intensity would be high but when you're playing at the highest level, it shows how intense it is. So that's where I realized what it actually takes. My four overs in the minor league could be equivalent to bowling, like an over in the MLC"

He recalls the arc vividly: the sting of going undrafted in the inaugural MLC season at a draft event hosted at the Houston Space Center, the grind of domestic cricket with limited opportunities, and to now, finally being thrown in the line of fire to bowl in the PowerPlay in his maiden game.

"I was just sitting there watching all my fellow friends and teammates getting picked with a smile. And that was a big turning point in my journey as a cricketer. Because at that point you ask yourself if you cannot make it into the MLC as an under 23 player, are you good enough to make it as a regular player? Because that was my last year as an under 23. So that journey of three years battling my self doubts, emotions and everything to finally get that chance to break in the MLC and finally get a chance to bowl was a lot.

"When I was about to start my run up, all I could feel was my body was just numb" recalled Gattepalli. "It was all muscle memory the very first ball I bowled. There was no real sensation. I didn't feel like I had control of my body. I just ran in and bowled". His slow, languid approach to the bowling crease accompanied by a pleasing to the eye, free flowing action free off unnecessary jerks refined through years of toil had helped him be on the money from ball one, despite being nervous as Short mistimed one that skidded onto him quicker than he had anticipated.

That first-ball wicket seemed to unshackle Gattepalli. A thinking cricketer and a natural tactician, he quickly put his strategy hat on against Fraser-McGurk. He pulled back his pace fractionally, shifted his line from middle-and-leg to middle-and-off, to invite the drive. Knowing that footwork against spin isn't Fraser-McGurk's strongest suit, Gattepalli drifted one in that landed on the seam that further gripped and cut away. In his bid to search for the leather early in the innings, Fraser-McGurk overbalanced at the crease to be duly stumped and Gattepalli had his second scalp in the space of three deliveries.

He seems to have developed a knack for striking with his very first ball of a tournament. After doing it on Major League debut, Gattepalli repeated the feat in Minor League as well-this time bagging two wickets in his opening over for the Chicago Tigers against the Dallas Xforia Giants. Riding that wave of momentum, he has carried his form into the current season, emerging as one of the top wicket-takers in Minor League so far. Gattepalli believes part of that success comes from adding new tools to his arsenal, including a top-spinner and a carrom ball, variations he is eager to unleash more often this year. What makes them doubly effective is his action that stands conducive to incorporating variations without an obvious change to his action.

"Our coach Carl Crowe at the LA Knight Riders says the way that I basically load, release the ball and follow through is pretty well rounded, like a well oiled machine". Crowe further complimented Gattepalli by pointing out that he was a type of bowler who can bowl with good speed and also deceive the batters in flight. He had a natural loop on the ball along with the dip. The way his front leg braces is similar to a fast bowler, landing on the heel then the toe and then the way my front leg braces and then the release which gives him the advantage to bowl faster.