"Hoping for more opportunities to prove myself in the IPL" - Karnataka mystery spinner KC Cariappa (Exclusive)

In February 2015, when the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) refused to put their paddle down and looked destined to sign Karnataka's KC Cariappa, it seemed like the stars were finally set to align for the mystery spinner.

For a man who was yet to play a First-Class or List-A game, Cariappa was the talk of the town after the Knight Riders landed the final bid at ₹2.4 Crore, 24 times his base price of ₹10 lakh. But for those devoted to the Karnataka Premier League (KPL), Cariappa's talent was already there to see.

KKR's investment in Cariappa came as a result of the spinner troubling the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa and Jacques Kallis among others in the nets. A ban slapped on Sunil Narine meant Cariappa was the immediate beneficiary, with KKR turning towards the spinner for a quick replacement.

However, things didn't exactly go to plan for Cariappa, with the spinner forced to bear the onslaught from Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers in his debut IPL game. That he foxed De Villiers to scalp his maiden IPL wicket did provide a means of consolation, but his figures (1/28 from 2 overs) forced him onto the benches for the remainder of IPL 2015.

Since then, Cariappa hasn't had a chance to feature much in the IPL. 5 matches in the 2016 season, one less game in 2017, just a solitary match in IPL 2019 sandwiched between him being unsold in 2018 and 2020, and half a season on the bench for the Rajasthan Royals in 2021.

There's a fair argument to say Cariappa certainly hasn't enjoyed the rub of the green, with mystery spinners not ubiquitous in modern-day cricket, at least in India. Yet, with age on his side and IPL teams in recent times willing to hinge their bets on relatively unknown talents, Cariappa is willing to take whatever's happened on the chin.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Cariappa spoke about his IPL journey so far, admiration for Gambhir, learning from Ajantha Mendis' bowling videos and more.

"I haven't got too many chances in the IPL. When I got selected in 2015, my name did the rounds, but I didn’t get too many matches. ABD was my debut wicket, but after that I didn’t play, Narine came back and I lost my chance. Even the few seasons I played for Punjab, I played only a few games. I feel there wasn't a proper balance, even in my performance."

"But like everyone says, more the matches, higher the confidence. I still remember the first match I played, there were 1 lakh people in the Eden Gardens crowd, it was surreal. I would love to get more matches in the seasons to come and re-live those moments."

Cariappa's rather serendipitous introduction to cricket was preceded by his interest in playing hockey, further pushed by his family's roots in Coorg. Often referred to as the 'Nursery of Hockey', Coorg's Kodava Hockey Festival is well known across the world, and it was only natural that Cariappa found a liking for the sport.

At around 19 years of age, though, life took a turn for the spinner. Cariappa walked through the gates of one of Bengaluru's most famous cricket clubs, the Jawahar Cricket Club, seeking to transition from tennis ball to leather-ball cricket.

A fortuitous session in the nets handed Cariappa an opportunity to shift from fast bowling to mystery spin, but the art of perfecting the variations with the leather ball did not come easily for the Kodava lad.

"When I first shifted to spin, I didn't even know it would be mystery (laughs). When I started bowling spin, my seniors told me it was coming nicely off my hand. I started watching a lot of Ajantha Mendis' videos, at that time Narine hadn't made a name for himself yet. Once I started bowling well, people started calling me Mendis, that's a good memory."

Cariappa's early years of cricket with the tennis ball were restricted to him trying to stifle batsmen with pace, but once he got the hang of bowling spin, things started to fall in place for him.

However, by his own admission, it needed a lot more than just some tutorials on the internet.

"It is very easy to bowl a carrom ball with the tennis ball. I didn't have too much practice bowling with the leather ball, it was very hard despite me practicing for 2-3 hours a day. I then started watching Narine's bowling videos, and I was shocked by the variations he had. Nowadays, times have changed, there are different types of mystery spinners as well!"

"People told me I haven't been playing regularly for Karnataka when I went unsold in the IPL auction" - Cariappa

It's no small truth that most of the opportunities in the IPL are a byproduct of good exhibitions in domestic circuit, even across formats. In this regard, Karnataka have boasted of probably the biggest names over the past few years, with the likes of KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Mayank Agarwal and most recently, Devdutt Padikkal becoming household names through the cash-rich league.

The aforementioned players, though, have had a lot of opportunities to prove themselves for Karnataka, while that's a luxury Cariappa has missed out on.

The spinner has featured in quite a few Karnataka squads since his maiden Ranji Trophy call-up in 2014, but the presence of established players such as K Gowtham, S Gopal and J Suchith has forced him to remain on the sidelines.

What's more, Cariappa's economy rate of just 5.02 played a big role in Karnataka's 2018-19 Syed Mushtaq Ali title win, the state's maiden T20 trophy victory. In 11 matches of the tournament, he picked up 10 wickets and was hit for just a single six, underlining the impact he had that season.

"I feel the main problem is that I've played only in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Even there I've performed well, my economy rate is around 5-6 RPO. In 2016 KPL, I was the highest wicket-taker. Karnataka has some really good players like Gowtham, Shreyas, Suchith and so understandably my chances are less."

"But the problem is even if you miss a year of domestic cricket, the chances of you getting picked in the IPL is less, and I have faced this issue a few times. When I went unsold, people said because I didn't play for Karnataka, I wasn't picked."

"Gambhir wouldn't compromise on the field, he was a very good captain" - Cariappa on his time with KKR

Cariappa spent just one season with the Knight Riders in IPL 2015, but it took only those many months for him to have some fond memories of the franchise. Cariappa reserved special praise for his KKR skipper Gambhir, who was his first captain in the IPL.

"Gambhir was a very good captain. He was a little strict in terms of bowling discipline, and effort on the field was something he wouldn't compromise. Outside the field, he didn't bother you. On the field, you had to give your 100% and that’s what I loved."

The 27-year-old also had some words of praise for Sanju Samson, who led the Royals in IPL 2021.

"Samson was really good, he is always calm. When I played U-19, he also played that same season for Kerala. The way he captained the side in IPL 2021, he always ensured the players were brimming with confidence."

"The RR management treats domestic and international players with the same respect"

As for his maiden season with his third IPL franchise, the Rajasthan Royals, Cariappa lamented the temporary cancellation of the tournament owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, but he had some positive things to say about the team.

"RR look at every player the same, there are no assumptions. Ben Stokes is such a warm person, he would come and talk to us while we would eat. Buttler would talk the least, he is always smiling, and when you see him you get really positive vibes. Even in the practice sessions, whether you are international or domestic, it didn't matter, we were all looked after very well."

He delved a little deeper into how his Karnataka teammate, Gopal, was at his pranking best during quarantine periods of IPL 2021.

"Shreyas is a prank master. When he was in quarantine, he would call up everyone through the hotel phone. He's a very jolly guy. I was close with Miller and Tewatia in the RR camp, I have played with them before. This season was turning out to be good, hopefully when it resumes we should be in a good position to start off well."

As for the opportunities that could come knocking at his door in the months or years to come, Cariappa is confident of making the most of what comes his way. There might be some mystery shrouding the future of domestic cricket or even the IPL, but for the talented spinner, there isn't a shadow of doubt enveloping his final goal: give his 100% on the field, carpe diem and don the national jersey in the near future.