"I can just say I'm living my dream" - Karnataka's Nikin Jose is doing it right in his debut season

A look at the strokeplay of Karnataka batter Nikin Jose makes you go wow! You know, that's a serious talent on display, given how technically correct he comes across. This year has catapulted him into the limelight, with Nikin having made the right noise with a fabulous first impression.

The 22-year-old top-order batter made his List-A debut for Karnataka in the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign. That's a big thing, mind you, given the assembly line of batting talent that has emerged from the state over the years. It meant that Nikin had to grab his opportunity by the scruff of the neck and that is exactly what he did.

In 10 matches, he amassed 447 runs at an average of 55.87 and a strike rate of 76.80. With three half-centuries and a century to his name, Nikin emerged as Karnataka's standout batter in the competition as they made it to the semi-finals. The fact that he often bailed his team out of a precarious situation is further testament to the fact that he's made for this level.

The dream season didn't end there though for Nikin. The prestigious Ranji Trophy debut followed soon after, and he responded with a solid 62 in the first innings against Services at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. This, having walked in with the score reading 16/2 and fellow debutant Vishal Onat for company.

His strike rate in the Vijay Hazare Trophy clearly needs to be taken with a lot of context. It can be convenient to pigeonhole Nikin as a batter better suited to the longer formats when the man himself strives to succeed across all three formats. The temperament he has shown at the nascent stages of his domestic career certainly vindicates the fact that he's cut out for it.

Confidence oozes through Nikin's strokeplay, as well as his words. It reflects quite clearly in his exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, where he talks about the fine start to his career, the struggle to make it to this level, and his dream of winning the Ranji Trophy for Karnataka.

Excerpts from Nikin Jose's exclusive interview with Sportskeeda

Q. First up, many congratulations on making your Ranji Trophy debut. What was it like when you received your Karnataka cap?

Nikin Jose: I was speechless when they told me I was going to make my debut because it’s been a really long wait. It took a lot on me, scoring lots of runs in the age category and still not being able to break your way through because you have senior players like KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, and Mayank Agarwal as well.

You have so many star players in the team, it’s not easy to get in. Then you understand how valuable the Ranji Trophy cap is and once you get it, the feeling is unbelievable.

Q. Is it fair to say this has been the season of dreams for Nikin Jose? A memorable Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament where you topped the charts for Karnataka and then a fifty on your Ranji Trophy debut as well.

Nikin Jose: I don’t want to jinx it (laughs). So far so good. I can just say I’m living my dream. This is what I’ve been dreaming of, doing well in one of the top-most tournaments in the country, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and being the highest run-getter for my state is an unbelievable feeling.

I feel that when things were going right I could have pushed a little bit more, and maybe helped my team finish even better in the Vijay Hazare Trophy like going to the finals or even winning the championship. What has happened has happened, but personally for me, as I said I’m just living my dream. Let’s see how it goes.

Q. You often found yourself in the midst of a tricky situation during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with the team having lost early wickets. How did you prepare yourself mentally for that challenge?

Nikin Jose: It’s kind of funny. I never really put so much thought into it. I just back myself, the confidence that I had. When you have players like Mayank and Manish, the confidence that you get from them, the things that you learn, the way they tackle situations like these, we’ve seen them bat since childhood.

We’ve seen them play some big knocks under pressure and perform well. I never really put so much pressure on myself. I just kept things simple, I just wanted to play according to the merits of the ball. It doesn’t matter what situation the team is in. The more defensive you try to be, the more they’ll walk all over you. I didn’t allow that to happen.

Mentally, I ensured that whatever happens, I’m going to play to the merits of the ball. It worked out pretty well in almost all the games.

Q. How much do you relish the challenge of being the crisis man for the team?

Nikin Jose: There were a few games. If I recall against Jharkhand, I didn’t get that many runs. We were chasing 150 I guess in the league stage that we played against them. And in the pre-quarters as well, both times we were chasing pretty tricky targets. We were chasing 170-180 odd.

I found myself in that situation both times. It really feels great. It doesn’t mean that you have to get a big score to boost your confidence. Once you tackle that situation the confidence increases within yourself and it’s really amazing. It showed and it was clearly visible to myself and the others who were watching that I was pretty confident out there of getting the job done.

Q. Let’s go back a little in time now. The passion for cricket, where did it all begin for Nikin Jose and how did it come about?

Nikin Jose: I started playing cricket when I was four years old. So yeah that’s way back. It was my father who was really into cricket. He wanted to make me a cricketer. I was really a notorious kid, I never used to listen to him (laughs).

Every day he used to wake me up at 6 o'clock in the morning or 5 o’clock on some days. I never really wanted to because it really didn’t feel right to get up so early. I was a child then - if you tell a five-year-old to get up at 5 or 6 o’clock, it’s obviously not that easy (laughs).

But the moment I realized how much I loved batting, that is when I understood, "Okay, this is what I want to do, this is going to be my life. I’m going to give everything for it".

All the credit goes to my dad. He’s the one who made me play and made me fall in love with this game. I was just speechless when I realized now how much effort he has put into making me play cricket and the amount of support and encouragement I’m getting from everyone.

Even when I’m not getting runs, people around me are just tapping me on my shoulders telling me ‘you’ve got this’. The amount of backing I’m getting from my family is really amazing.

Q. Which Karnataka player helped in shaping your career as you grew up?

Nikin Jose: I never really got time to interact with so many players as I grew up in my age category. Our timings differed a lot. For example, if I was in the U19 state team, the timings differed. We never really got time to interact and watch other players practice and how they came about during practice.

Who shaped my career? I have to go back in time to my childhood coach. His name is Gadadhar. I cannot thank that man enough, he has done so much for me. I have huge respect for him.

The amount of effort that he put in…and he was a really, really, really strict guy (laughs). Even for the smallest things that we didn’t do, we used to get punished badly. I never really understood it at that time. We hated how strict and how professional he was. We never really understood the importance but that’s what has got me here. He was the main reason who helped me shape myself, come up with the goods and deliver.

Q. Who do you look up to the most among batters as your inspiration?

Nikin Jose: I’ve never had an idol when it comes to batters, whether a Karnataka or an Indian batter. If I had to name one of my favorite batters when I was growing up, it would be Sachin Tendulkar. As I call him, he is still the God of cricket.

The number of runs he has got, and the years he has served for India, still gives me goosebumps every time I watch him bat. He’s one of my favorites, but when it comes to idolizing someone I’ve never really had that kind of that. But Sachin Tendulkar has been my biggest inspiration.

Q. “Countless hours of hard work, sweat, blood, ups and downs all culminated to this priceless feeling of donning the Karnataka jersey” - this was what you captioned your Instagram post at the end of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It must have felt so satisfying for you when you capped it off with a good campaign.

Nikin Jose: It took a lot of time for me to digest the fact that I’ve actually received the cap. After I received my cap, we went on with our warm-ups and I still couldn’t believe that I was wearing the cap. I wore that cap the entire day and I just didn’t feel like removing it.

Even after the first day of my Ranji Trophy debut was over, I just couldn’t get my eyes off the cap. It was such an amazing feeling. All the practice sessions, all the hard work that you’ve put in back then, just flash right in front of you. The feeling was just amazing.

Q. Coming to your game, you come across as this batter who has a textbook technique. In an era of T20 cricket and innovative strokeplay, does your preparation regime change when you have to switch between formats?

Nikin Jose: It’s a really huge difference when you play white-ball and red-ball cricket. Especially after the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy, we only got two sessions of red ball practice.

We really didn’t have time since we went to the semi-finals. So we had about a week’s time to get into the red-ball mode. We had two days off and we were back training again. With the limited amount of time, it’s really important how fast you adapt mentally so that it automatically reflects in the way you practice.

More than the matches you’re going to play it’s really important to focus on each and every ball in the nets session because you won’t get that time back. That's when you actually get prepared for your game.

Once you're mentally ready there, then playing a match is just a cake. You really have to tighten yourself up in the nets, push yourself harder, and set targets for yourself when you’re batting, especially when you have really less time to switch to the longer format. I’m just really happy that I did that and it’s working out really well.

Q. Playing a tournament like the Maharaja T20 Trophy where you play against the best in the state must have enhanced your experience. What was that like?

Nikin Jose: I’ve been playing in the Maharaja T20 Trophy for seven seasons, this was my eighth. It’s a totally different environment you come across. When you play a league tournament there’s no crowd and there’s not a lot of noise. But when you play a tournament like the Maharaja Trophy, it’s a really big platform for youngsters like us to showcase our talent and express ourselves.

This is when it’s all tested, your calmness when people are going crazy around you, shouting your name and stuff like that. It’s about how much you stay in the present and how much it brings the best out in you. And it’s really important to take up that responsibility and come up with whatever you have in mind.

We don’t get many games to play under lights and KSCA has provided us with such immense facilities which gives us a whole new experience playing under lights. Especially when you’re facing one of the top performers for Karnataka, someone like Abhimanyu Mithun. When you’re playing them under lights, especially in a high-octane game in a tournament like the Maharaja Trophy the experience is unreal.

Q. Higher ambitions must be up your sleeve. Having started the season on an excellent note, how motivated are you to sustain it and bring Ranji glory again to Karnataka?

Nikin Jose: It’s been a long time since Karnataka won the Ranji Trophy. 2014-15 was the last time. It’s been close to eight years. It would mean the world to me. I would really play my part, I would give my 200 percent on the field to make sure that happens. Every time I get to bat or field, I will make sure that I contribute to the team in every way possible so that we inch closer to the trophy and we really, really want to get it back home.

Nikin Jose had to wait to get into the Karnataka XI. Not only has he knocked hard on the door, but he has also smashed it down with a fine start. The sky is the limit for this technically correct batter who we could hear a lot of in the years to come.

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Nikin Jose is represented by the talent management company Square The One.