Suchith feels he's only 'one good season' away from India call
The last that most of us saw Jagadeesha Suchith on television was when the final ball of IPL 2017 was hit in his direction by Dan Christian. Suchith (who was picked by the Mumbai Indians for INR 10 lakh in the 2015 auctions and retained for the next two seasons) fumbled at first but returned the ball just in time for Parthiv Patel to whip the bails off and prevent Pune from completing the run that was needed to tie the game.
This was in May, and during the course of the five months that have followed, Suchith has taken to Ricky Ponting's words of 'preparing for the next challenge' in the absence of sufficient match practice.
His KPL franchise, the Mysuru Warriors, won their tournament opener against the Belagavi Panthers, and with this T20 league, Suchith would look to spend some time in the middle ahead of the domestic season that lies ahead.
Sportskeeda caught up with the 23-year-old all-rounder to discuss his IPL journey, aspirations from the KPL, the upcoming domestic season and his India dreams.
How was the experience of being on the field for an IPL final?
It was pretty good. Because we were beaten by Pune in the qualifiers, we badly wanted to win it. You know how hard it is to win a tournament like the IPL, the hours of effort that you put in, the practice, the training, only to win that particular tournament.
It was heartening to see us bowl the way we did after we batted like that. It was pretty good and we were pretty happy that we won the league.
Were you nervous during those final moments, especially when the last ball was hit to you? What were your thoughts at the precise moment?
To be honest, yes. Obviously, you would be nervous because it was the final ball of the tournament. But if I put it in the right way, I had been fielding in the tournament regularly because, in every game, some or the other fielder was out of the field.
So I used to field for a couple of overs, and even five to six overs in some games. In a game against KKR, Pollard didn't field for the entire innings and I had to step in. So if you ask me, I was pretty used to it as I was a regular member of the squad and fielding didn't put pressure on me.
That it was the final ball of the IPL added that extra bit of pressure. But I back myself to field well in pressure situations. To be honest, the outfield in Hyderabad was a bit bumpy and that is why I fumbled the ball. On any other outfield, I would have collected the ball cleanly. Nevertheless, I was glad that the throw reached the keeper on time."
You made your first-class debut in 2014-15. Since then, you've been in and out of the Karnataka side and haven't played many IPL games for Mumbai. How would you like to summarize your journey?
"It has been a bit of an up-and-down ride. From the last time I played an IPL game to this date, a lot of things have happened. I played most of the games in the 2015-16 domestic season, right from the Ranji Trophy to the one-day games and T20s. Since then, I didn't play most games of the 2016-17 domestic season and I have not been a part of an IPL XI as well for the past two seasons.
It happens in a sportsman's career. The ups and downs will be there. How I take it and how I cope with it is important and I can very confidently say that I have been working on my game. I am much more confident and much more ready to take on challenges. I have worked a lot on my bowling, skill-wise if you talk about. I have been batting a lot for the past one year. I have been training pretty hard so I can say that I'm pretty much confident and can back my skills."
And how has KPL helped you hone your skills over the past couple of years?
KPL has been one of the reasons why I got picked by the Mumbai Indians. In the 2014 season, the Mysuru Warriors won the trophy and I had a pretty good season as well. Plus, once you play in the IPL and come back to play in the KPL, you are much more matured and the whole team would depend more on you because they know you've tackled tougher situations in the IPL. That's an added responsibility on your shoulders and how you take it and how you counter it is up to you.
And I have been pretty good at handling such situations. I don't remember exactly but I was the third-highest wicket-taker in the 2015 KPL and I got the fastest fifty as well. Last year, I was the highest wicket-taker. So it is pretty good to keep achieving whatever goals you set for the tournament. It is also good to earn the team's faith; when the team believes that you're the guy to do it, your self-belief is obviously very high.
How has the time spent in the Mumbai Indians camp, in the company of established international cricketers helped improve your game?
I spent a lot of time with Anil (Kumble, MI mentor) sir in the 2015 IPL, and it was pretty unfortunate that I didn't work with him thereafter. Somebody like Harbhajan Singh adds a lot of value to your game. He gives you inputs that you can use in your bowling to make it better.
But Ricky Ponting, over the past couple of years, has had a very big role to play in developing the self-confidence that I have right now. I used to talk to him a lot during the IPL as I didn't get to play many games. That's the time he backed me a lot, giving me confidence in my skill and telling me how good a cricketer I am.
I wasn't playing regularly for the Mumbai Indians and badly wanted to have a chat with someone. So I spoke with Ponting about what do you do when you're ready and you're still not getting a game.
He said the best you can do is come to train and prepare each and every day to face the next challenge -- the next game coming up. You sharpen your skills, you work on all three aspects of your game and keep training hard.
He said you'll have a better chance to perform well whenever you get your next chance when you hone your skills day in and day out, rather than keep thinking about not getting a chance to play. And it is true. It has helped me a lot with my confidence level.
From that time until now, all I have been doing is not thinking too much ahead but just think about what challenge I have next and keep myself prepared for it.
Now that fresh auctions are speculated for the next season of the IPL, how do you see yourself faring?
As I said, I am not looking too far ahead. The focus is on the next challenge, that is the KPL and the Ranji Trophy season that is to follow. I will be focusing on getting better every day and improving as a cricketer, technically and tactically. Eventually, if you are good enough, when the time comes, you will be picked by some or the other franchise.
But the dream of an India cap, maybe a far-fetched one, for now, would still be there, right?
It's not a far-fetched idea, to be honest. As you would have also seen, for a lot of cricketers it takes just one good season to break into the Indian team. You can see R Samarth and K Gowtham, they had a brilliant Ranji season last year and now they've played in South Africa for India 'A'.
So it just takes one good season, one hard working season when everything is going right for you and you keep doing the right things day in and day out. That's when it's going to happen.
I don't believe in saying that it is too far fetched but yeah, it is a challenge in the long run. You've got to be ready and be ahead of all the challenges that you face in the short run. That's how you're gonna approach it.
But after all these years, I can pretty much say that I am well-equipped with the ball and the bat. All these players like (KL) Rahul or Karun (Nair), they've just cashed in at the right moment. Rahul had consecutive Ranji seasons and Karun had that triple hundred. So you just don't know when that moment's going to come. You just need to be prepared for it.
Several of your Karnataka teammates have made it to the India 'A' and the senior men's team. How inspired do you get when you see them playing for India?
When you feel that a teammate of yours is playing for India 'A' or the senior team, especially a teammate with whom you've been playing a lot of cricket since childhood, it adds to your confidence. You just keep saying to yourself that they were just there playing with you.
I know it's not easy, you have to put in a lot more hard work than you realize to reach that stage but it's not that far. It is very much possible, and all it takes is one good season for you to reach there.