Faded but not forgotten, Shivil Kaushik aiming for IPL contract in 2018
Steve Smith’s eccentric way of batting, the shuffle in his crease and whippy strokeplay included, has confounded the best of bowlers since 2013. Playing for the Pune Supergiant last year, Smith was ‘almost’ undone by a then obscure chinaman bowler, whose eerily contorted bowling action has no parallel in contemporary cricket.
Shivil Kaushik was the talk of the town during IPL 2016, especially after his debut game for the Gujarat side against Smith & Co. Twitter had a field day, finding a new subject in the little known 20-year-old, who in his second IPL over ever, caught the inside of Smith’s bat and flattened his stumps.
The hysterical, confused joy of the nervous bowler popped like a bubble when the third umpire’s routine check-up found the bowler’s overenthusiastic front foot pushing past the popping crease.
Just like that psuedo-dismissal, the topsy-turvy ride of this unique cricketer has never quite reclaimed the levels of popularity that he touched a year back, but Shivil is determined to return to the right track.
His journey truly started when he won the Spin Stars Contest in 2015, a competition organised under Anil Kumble to find out the next best spinner in his state. The progression until then had been like any other budding cricketer.
“I was introduced to the game by my parents, who were very supportive of me playing the game. Generally in India, parents are more interested in making engineers or businessmen out of their children. But since my father used to play himself, I started very early, around 7-8, and my father took me to the Sadanand Vishwanath academy in Bangalore”.
Growing up, his role models were Sachin, Laxman, Dravid and Kumble. Watching the famed Indian batting line-up prosper as he progressed, any other youngster might have had an inclination to pick up the bat. Shivil, however, was interested in only bowling. “It was the only thing I learned”.
His unique bowling action was the talk of the town during IPL 2016, being compared to Paul Adams’ ‘frog-in-the-blender’ bowling style, in which the bowler appears to be facing towards midwicket while delivering the ball.
When asked about how his action was perceived during his initial playing days, Kaushik assured that all the coaches were very encouraging of it, as they believed the uniqueness would be difficult for the batsmen to pick.
However, the kind of strain that comes along with an such an action can expose the back to serious injury. Kaushik says “To be honest, I haven’t had any problems from the time I started. The mechanics of my body are such that I haven’t gotten injured”.
After he had a stellar showing in the KPL, the IPL scouts quickly identified him. By next year, he was in the Gujarat Lions camp for their inaugural IPL season.
“Sharing the dressing room with the stars was a different experience, you had seen them on TV and now they were in front of you. I got a lot of support from the likes of Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Bravo.
Now representing the Mysuru Warriors for KPL 2017, Kaushik acknowledges the importance the domestic T20 tournament has had in catapulting him to stardom.
“KPL has been very important in my career, giving me the opportunity to showcase my talent, first for the Hubli and then the Mysuru team. It is a premium T20 tournament that has a lot of people watching on television. It is also important for players because the IPL scouts are on the look-out”.
While most slow bowlers get the stick when the batsmen are on song in T20s, few spinners have managed to turn the tables with their aggressive brand of bowling, challenging batsmen to step out of their crease and commit a mistake.
“I go for wickets and try all my variations. It’s about enjoying and staying focussed and not concentrating too much on the result, but enjoying the process. [Suresh Raina] told me to be myself and enjoy, everything else will fall into place”.
The journey after IPL 2016 hasn’t been a smooth one for Shivil. Yet to play a first class game, his IPL 2017 stint was cut short following a finger injury. He now aims to reclaim his old form in the hope of taking his career a notch higher.
“My immediate goal is to do well for the Mysuru Warriors. I got a finger injury in the IPL, I am getting fit now and hope to help the team reach the playoffs. If I get noticed, I can hopefully win an IPL contract next year”.
Cricket has always had space for quirkiness. Hopefully, Shivil doesn't end up being a forgotten name, especially because his action, as well as the species of bowling he represents, is extremely unorthodox, and adds a different layer to the game's ever-changing dynamics.
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