Every cricketer has his story, from the bottom to the top. A strenuous journey, filled with challenges to face and obstacles to overcome, but at the end, there is pure unbridled joy. For 33 year old Bharat Chipli, it can be argued that moment came when he was picked to play the IPL.
A talented right-handed batsman who made his mark climbing up the ranks in Karnataka, the Royal Challengers Bangalore came calling in the very first season. However, he would have to wait a couple of years and make the switch across the border to the Deccan Chargers to make his mark.
But his journey doesn’t begin there. It all began at a summer camp, like it did for many kids across the country, and at a very early age at that. As we caught up with Bharat Chipli at the clubhouse in the KSCA, he looked relax after a workout and spoke to us at length over his career so far.
“It all started with a summer camp at the age of 12 in BTM layout. We shifted houses, so I joined another camp, this time in JP Nagar. I moved on to BPCA from there, and that’s how I started playing league cricket. I played for a couple of fourth division teams as well at the age of 14, first Diamond CC and then Jawan’s.”
He confessed to having always loved the game, and why wouldn’t he. For better or for worse, he moved around quite a bit while growing up, allowing him to play cricket in different parts of the city, adding new skills to his repertoire and polishing his game.
Cricket was an obsession. Whether it was inside the house or outside, it was what he did growing up.
“I always loved the game, I played a lot of tennis ball cricket, inside and outside the house. I never thought I would one day play IPL or Ranji Trophy, it all just happened to me. I kept working on the skill, that’s how I went about it.”
Through the course of the interview, we would go on to realise that Bharat Chipli is a straight-shooter, he calls it as he sees it. He wasn’t faking humility when he said he never thought he would once be playing the IPL. Chances are that he probably never did.
“Just by playing the game, I loved the sport. I never really had any intentions of playing for the state. I didn’t even realise all that might be a possibility, until I played for the state.”
We urged him to refresh his memory, and provide us with a timeline of the places he’s played at and the people who influenced him while he was climbing up the ranks. What we learnt was that he has a razor sharp memory.
“My first coach was Ananth Ram in BTM Layout. In JP Nagar, it was Mansoor Ahmed. He made me play all-India tournaments at the age of 15 - 16. At BPCA, Karthik Jaswanth took care of me. He put me on to a league side and made me meet Irfan Sait. Thanks to Irfan Sait, I represented Jawans and Swastik, I learnt a lot from all these experiences. College cricket really helped me play one-day cricket. I was really glad I played college cricket.”
He was born in 1983 and belonged to an era of cricketers who didn’t naturally hit the ball hard, they were more concerned with playing solid cricket. Technique was most important as they fought tooth and nail to play first-class cricket. Bharat Chipli, however, made his name in the shortest format of the game. We pondered as to how he made the transition.
“When I played U-19 for the state, I never had the ability to hit the ball hard. I came back to the nets, worked hard, it was like trial and error. I thought to myself - why can’t I hit the ball hard? By the time I was playing U-22, my game had developed so much that I thought I can play both Ranji Trophy and one-dayers.”
He has played IPL cricket for 4 years. He started off with the RCB in 2008, where he failed to impress in the three outings he got. That led to a two-year absence from the IPL, before he was signed on by the Deccan Chargers, for whom he would enjoy two fine seasons. He last played for the Delhi Daredevils in 2013.
He recalls the years with the Deccan Chargers and absolutely cherishes the time he had there.
Speaking about Deccan’s star-studded line up, he said, “They were all very chilled out. If you go to Kumar Sangakkara and ask him for help, he would. If you asked him for a bat, he would give it to you. Even Dale Steyn for that matter, there was no attitude about him. It was all equal in the dressing room, we used to pull each others leg, have a good time, it was good fun. They didn’t have any airs about being International cricketers”.
It was perhaps this dressing room atmosphere, this camaraderie, this support system that allowed him to thrive. In 2011, he played 14 games for the Chargers, scoring 207 runs and carrying his bat home in 5 of the games.
We probed further, on why there appears to be a contrast between that particular season and the others. That’s when Chipli mentions Darren Lehmann – the then coach of Deccan Chargers.
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“He’s very chilled out. After the match, we would have a 5 minute team meeting where he would give us pointers as to which boxes we didn’t tick during the game. Then he used to say – come let’s have a chilled beer.”
Getting him to speak about Australia’s current coach was a big bonus. He elucidated further, “He would never blame anyone for a dropped catch, he would say it happens in the game. The very next day however, in the nets, he would give you plenty of catches. He would improve the skill without talking negatively about it”
The very next season, Chipli failed to carry on his form and only managed 37 runs from 5 games with a high-score of 25. The poor showings led to Deccan Chargers believing he was surplus to requirements and he was signed by the Delhi Daredevils in 2013.
For DD, he played one game and scored 16 runs. However, there were to be no more opportunities and thus his run in the IPL came to an end.
While he has not been a part of the IPL for the past 3 years, he has established himself as a star in the Karnataka Premier League. Speaking about his near-term objectives and what he would like to achieve going forward, he said, “I am moving towards playing a lot of T20 cricket. I want to win this year’s KPL again. We are the defending champions, we want to retain the title. We have a great side, hopefully we pull through again.”
At 33, Bharat Chipli is nowhere near the twilight of his career. At first glance, you know he’s a character that lights up a room and would be a great asset in any dressing room he enters. At no stage during the 20 minute interview, did he ever seem like he might have had some regrets over how his career has gone.
He started his interview telling us he never dreamt of playing the IPL, but play it he did, setting an example for a number of youngsters from Karnataka, who start out at various summer camps around the city that they too can become stars if they work on their skill.
As we got up to shake hands with him and take our leave, he insisted that we stay back and enjoy his hospitality as he treated us to lunch. Over the course of the meal, he would go on to narrate a number of fascinating IPL stories, his life in Bangalore and what it means to be a cricketer.
The elegant right-hander has lived his dream, and is certainly glad that he continues to. With the KPL 2016 right around the corner, watch out for Bharat Chipli. He is hungry and still determined to make a mark, and maybe earn one last shot at the IPL.
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