I am trying to be a complete all-rounder, says J Kousik

From trying to be a bowler owing to his love for Brett Lee's bowling to having the former Australian pace bowler as a mentor in the Tamil Nadu Premier League and transforming himself into a genuine all-rounder, life has come a long way for the kid from Coimbatore who dreamed of being a professional cricketer.

Being born in a city that hasn't always had a great affinity with sports, it isn't particularly surprising that J Kousik was initially reluctant to take up cricket as he thought that might come in the way of his studies. But it didn't take long for the all-rounder to fall in love with the game, which eventually forced him to move away from his family and friends to a new city in a bid to enhance his career.

Sportskeeda caught up with Tamil Nadu all-rounder J Kousik, who is currently playing for Siechem Madurai Panthers in TNPL 2018, to talk about his game, his name ("puli") and how he came to be an all-rounder that is starting to make a name for himself in the domestic circuit.

Reflecting on his decision to move to Chennai after school, Kousik admits that it wasn't easy to leave his hometown and all his friends and family behind. But he knew that was a decision he had to take if he wanted to play club cricket consistently and slowly move up the ladder.

"It wasn't easy initially. I shifted my college to Chennai and have been there for the last six to seven years. I had to leave my family and I had to keep training in Chennai. It has been the most difficult part of my life so far. Missing my parents, school and college days, that was the hard part but for cricket, I knew I have to come here (Chennai). I have chosen this field, I knew I have to work hard and luckily it has worked out so far," he says.

So how did someone who started out as a bowler who took up the game because he loved Brett Lee's bowling action became an all-rounder, who reached his maiden first-class century with a six? The 23-year-old admits that it was because he understood the demands of the modern game.

"It is always good to be an all-rounder because you can contribute with the bat, or with the ball or in the field. That is what the team needs and I am always happy to be an all-rounder."

When asked about whether he considers himself a batting all-rounder or a bowling all-rounder and the response is instantaneous. "I am more of a batsman who can bowl," he adds before admitting that he is trying to be a "complete all-rounder" much like his idols, Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff.

"Now I am trying to be a complete all-rounder so that I can bowl four overs for the team and also bat at the top and score some runs."

Working with Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath

J Kousik has had the help of McGrath and Lee

He continues to get closer to his goal thanks to the help he has received from Brett Lee, who was a mentor for Kousik's side Ruby Kanchi Warriors in TNPL 2017 and Glenn McGrath, from his time at the MRF pace foundation. And he admits that the approach of both former Australian fast bowlers is different.

Speaking about his time with them, Kousik says, "It has been a pleasure working with them. As a batsman primarily, initially I found it difficult to catch up to the things that they taught me but after a few months, I used that to work on my bowling."

While there are lots of different types of all-rounders, there aren't many whose fielding is as much of an asset as their batting and bowling. But Kousik is one such player and it is his ferocity in the fielder that gave his nickname "puli" (which means tiger in Tamil).

So has he worked extra hard on being so good? "Fielding is something that comes naturally to me," adds the 23-year-old. "From a young age, I used to work a lot on my fielding. I think being an all-rounder, especially being a very good fielder, helps the team a lot.

"During my youth, I used to concentrate a lot on fielding. That gave me the nickname Tiger. That didn't put any extra pressure on me but I wanted to give it my all and make the most of something that comes to me naturally."

Aside from his exceptional fielding, power hitting and variations are something that Kousik is working hard on as he looks to seal a spot in the Tamil Nadu side.

"I have been working on my power-hitting and working on the variations with the ball. Power-hitting is something that is needed in the T20 game. In the last two years, I did not have this ability, so I worked on it. I think it is the most important thing for a batsman to have the ability to hit big shots," he says.

While he wants to "learn a lot" from fellow Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar, he is thankful for the platform that TNPL has provided.

"TNPL is a very good platform. We have a lot of talent coming through from the districts and it is up to the players to make use of the platform and make it big by playing for Tamil Nadu and even for the country," he concludes.

And that is precisely what the 23-year-old will have his eyes on if he can perform consistently for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket. As Vijay Shankar has shown and Kousik said so himself, the opportunity is there and it is up to the players to take it.

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