K Gowtham, the offspinner who returned to first-class cricket after three seasons to become Karnataka’s highest wicket-taker in 2016-17, was sold for INR 2 crore in the IPL auction 2017 to Mumbai Indians.
Gowtham, who took 18 wickets and impressed one and all with his good display of off-spin bowling for Karnataka in 2016-17, had a base price of INR 10 lakh but Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders chased him in an aggressive bid and made Gowtham one of the most surprising bids of IPL auction 2017.
In an interview to ESPNcricinfo, Gowtham revealed that India’s off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is his inspiration and it was his advice that helped him in making a comeback after 3 years.
“I was inspired by Harbhajan’s action and that’s how I started it,” Gowtham tells ESPNcricinfo. “The moment he saw me with the action, he was pretty surprised. But he told me I wasn’t getting side-on completely. I had a semi side-on kind of action, so he told me to rectify that and work a little more on my bowling.
“I have changed my action completely now,” Gowtham says. “Every bowler is unique, and I didn’t want to be known as the guy who bowls like Harbhajan. I wanted to be on my own, so I tried out a few actions in the nets and I could bowl even better than previously.”
