Lesser Known Facts About Rajasthan’s ‘Rs 6.5. Crore’ All-Rounder Krishnappa Gowtham: The Indian Premier League (IPL) has given Indian cricket many stars. Right from its first season, IPL has provided the platform to the young talent from India and across the world, to showcase their skills and display their talent in front of a big crowd and viewers from all across the world.
This year, in the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League, we have already seen many young players make a mark and impress one and all with their cricketing skills. On 22nd April, in the match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals, young Krishnappa Gowtham played a brilliant cameo with the bat and won the match for Rajasthan Royals in the most emphatic manner.
Krishnappa Gowtham was one of the hottest topics of discussion after he was picked by Rajasthan Royals Rs 6.2 crore after a closely-fought bidding war. Krishnappa Gowtham’s price tag surprised one and all because he was paid 31 times more than his base price of INR 20 lakh.
Krishnappa Gowtham is a very explosive T20 batsman and a very handy off-spinner who can bowl at any stage of the innings. Initially, in IPL 2018, fans were disappointed with Gowtham because despite getting a place in the playing XI for Rajasthan Royals in every game, he struggled to make a mark with both the bat and ball in the early games.
But, in the match against Mumbai Indians on Sunday (22nd April), Krishnappa Gowtham showed to the world why all the franchises wanted him in their team during the auction. Gowtham scored 33 runs off just 11 balls and smashed 4 fours and 2 sixes to take his side home against the mighty Mumbai Indians. Commentator Harsha Bhogle wrote a beautiful tweet for him after the match.
He’s been a fantastic buy for #RajasthanRoyals, this Krishnappa Gowtham. He’d been tracked by quite a few franchises and showed his value today. 33(11)!!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 22, 2018
Now, let us look at some of the lesser known facts about Krishnappa Gowtham:
1) Harbhajan Singh is his inspiration
Krishnappa Gowtham’s bowling action had a startling resemblance to that of Harbhajan Singh during his early days. In an interview, he told that Turbanator has had a huge influence in his career. In fact, he is called ‘Bhajji’ by his state teammates.
2) In 2017, Krishnappa Gowtham was picked by Mumbai Indians and he was picked for just INR 30 lakh. However, he didn’t get to play even a single match in the last season.
3) Turning point in his career
Krishnappa Gowtham picked 18 wickets in his first three Ranji Trophy matches in 2016. As a result he was picked to play for India A in 2017.
4) Mentored by the legendary Indian spinner Erapalli Prasanna
Krishnappa Gowtham met Erapalli Prasanna. during a a camp conducted by Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). Gowtham says that his association with Mr. Prasanna made him understand the game better. Prassana had asked Gowtham to work on his run-up to the wicket, which proved to be a masterstroke in his career.
