Kolkata: Kamlesh Nagarkoti. India’s U-19 World Cup star had been riddled with injuries and could not make his debut for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ever since being picked in the IPL Auction in 2018 but this season, his patience is finally set to bear fruit. With Nagarkoti all set to play in this year’s edition for the KKR, he looks forward to learning from Australian star Pat Cummins the knack of handling injuries. In an interview with kkr.in, Nagarkoti said, I will definitely ask for tips from Cummins if I get a chance. He had injuries for a long time. So, I would want to ask him what mindset he had had during those 3-4 years, how he kept himself motivated and how he prepared himself for the comeback.”
“For batsmen, my dream is to bowl to our coach Brendon McCullum at the nets. I have seen him while growing up. His batting style was really aggressive and unique. I guess I can learn a lot from him about the mindset of openers. He was himself an opener, so he can guide me on this. It is important for a bowler to read the mindset of opening batsmen,” Kamlesh said.
“Whatever training program was advised by KKR, I had been following that. I had a chat with Abhishek Nayar sir and also spoke to my previous mentors at NCA, Soham sir and Anand sir. They have a strong knowledge about my body, so they could suggest correct ways for me to improve. Basically, I took suggestions from all of them and picked out exercises that I could do at home,” Nagarkoti said.
“I have changed a few aspects in my bowling after consulting my coach Surender sir and KKR bowling coach Omkar Salvi sir. They shared a couple of pointers on how to reduce injuries. I have been working on them regularly and they have been pretty beneficial,” he said.
“I had too many doubts to sort with batting and bowling. I benefited a lot from Abhishek Nayar’s experience. During practice sessions, whatever he makes us do, is extremely helpful for us. He has guided me both with bowling and batting and always focused on nurturing me as an all-rounder, that’s the best part,” Nagarkoti said. “I focus a lot on batting. Abhishek Nayar advised quite a few changes in my batting, basis my strengths and weaknesses. I am working on my drawbacks right now to make them my strength going forward,” Kamlesh said.
“I could do some exercises that were moderately difficult. But some were extremely tough. I didn’t even try them! You can’t start off with such hard exercises. Gradually, as I become stronger, I will try them out,” he said.
Kamlesh said, “I used to interact with a lot of seniors at NCA, including Rahul Dravid sir. He used to always help me sort out my issues. I learned a great deal when it comes to figuring out the areas I needed to work on, especially my body. Dravid sir has been really helpful in the entire process.”
“I remember I was playing TT one day when Dravid sir was passing by. He stopped for a while and said, you look sad. I can understand what you are going through but try and take it positively.” The India’s U-19 World Cup star said.
” Then he referred to Cummins’ absence from cricket for 3-4 years and said, “when he returned to cricket, he ensured he became the No. 1 bowler in the world”. He insisted that I should forget the past but must learn from the mistakes of the past to have a better future. One more thing I learned from him was not to ever feel that because I was injured, I would never be as good as before,” said Nagarkoti.
When asked has your chemistry been with your U-19 partner and KKR teammate Shivam Mavi? Kamlesh said, “We have been playing together for a long time. Even prior to the U-19 World Cup, we have played together. There has been a great bonding so far. We help each other in turns whenever any issue arises.”
“We have a great bond. Shubman and Abhishek (Sharma) are my best friends. We used to always hang out together during the World Cup. Even though I had a different roommate, I would often be spotted with Shubman. We met even during U-16 days but I didn’t know much about him, other than the fact that he was a real hard hitter. Then we met on the U-19 journey and became great friends,” Nagarkoti said.
Regarding excellent performance at Tauranga where India beat Australia. Sourav Ganguly tweeted about you, do you remember that? He said, Of course, I remember. It was one of the best moments of my life. My dream was to represent my country like any other youngster. And it happened! It was U-19, but nevertheless, it was a pleasure to play the World Cup. I remember how happy I was to see the tweets of Sourav Ganguly and other stalwarts. It is definitely one of the most memorable moments.”
When asked about Andre Russell, Nagarkoti said, “He always used to have very curious expressions on his face whenever we faced each other. He often wondered how I could bowl so fast despite being an U-19 player. I remember, we were at the nets of Eden Gardens and he hit me for a couple of sixes. But I also got four dot balls, so I was happy. Great memories!” (agencies)
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