Indian cricketers in focus: Siddharth Kaul - fighting against all odds

On 2nd March 2008, as Sachin Tendulkar scored a century to lead India to a victory over Australia in the first final of the CB series, news about the triumph of another Indian cricket team trickled in.

In Malaysia, a bunch of teenagers had got themselves a place in history by becoming only the second Indian team to win the Under-19 cricket World Cup.

Defending 18 runs in the final over of the rain curtailed summit clash against South Africa, a little known Punjab seamer Siddharth Kaul showcased great skills and a sense of maturity to bowl a brilliant last over in which he gave away just six runs and picked up two wickets and seal a thrilling victory.

Siddarth Kaul at 2008 U19 World Cup

 

The performance capped off a brilliant campaign for the right-arm medium pacer who finished with 10 wickets at a measly 15.4 runs apiece to emerge as the joint highest wicket-taker for India in the tournament.

Many of his teammates from the World Cup winning team have made it big at the next level. His skipper in the World Cup, Virat Kohli is now one of the leading batsmen in world cricket and first in line to take the mantle of captaincy from Mahendra Singh Dhoni. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, after a roller-coaster ride in the international circuit, is now the leading bowler in ODI cricket.

Even the likes of Saurabh Tiwary and Manish Pandey have proved their mettle and are sought after entities in the IPL. But Kaul has been left to play catch up as a spate of injuries and poor form conspired to derail his career.

Coached by his father Tej Kaul, a former Team India physiotherapist, from a very young age, Kaul started his first class career in the 2007-08 season and made an immediate impact. Making his debut alongside his brother, Punjab wicketkeeper Uday Kaul, he started off with a five-wicket haul against Orissa and caught the attention of selectors despite the presence of other domestic stalwarts like Gagandeep Singh and VRV Singh.

Following his success in the Under-19 grade, he was lapped up by Kolkata Knight Rider in the IPL. Though he was on the bench throughout the tournament, he was marked as one to watch out for in the future. But that is when things took an ugly turn.