Meet 15-year-old cricket prodigy Nikin Jose
15-year-old Nikin Jose created history in the Karnataka Premier League by becoming the first bowler to take 6 wickets in a single match. The promising youngster achieved the feat for his side Mysuru Warriors against the Rockstars in what was the final league match of the KPL season 4.
The critics of the game’s shortest format might not agree bu the advent of T20 cricket has helped the game of cricket expand its reach to a wider audience. The game has had a following like no other in India ever since India defeated the mighty West Indies in the final of the 1983 World Cup.
The cricket crazy nation took instant liking to the Indian Premier League when it began in 2008 and though many regional T20 leagues have come up over the years trying to emulate the success of the IPL, it’s the Karnataka version that has outshined its rival competitions. Karnataka are the reigning domestic treble champions and have contributed several players to the national team over the years.
The likes of Gundappa Vishwanath, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath have done the state proud with their illustrious careers, while the current crop of KL Rahul, Stuart Binny, Robin Uthappa, Karun Nair and the likes are very much in the scheme of things for the national team. Following today’s performance, we could well see the addition of Nikin Jose to that list.
Nikin, who only turned 15 last month, has been touted as one for the future for quite some time, but contrary to what we saw today, it was his performances with the bat that was making the headlines. The right-handed batsman first bagged the limelight when he was adjudged the Best Under-14 player in the state for the 2013/14 season during which he represented the Mysore Zone. He also bagged the Best Batsman award in the annual KSCA awards for that particular season.
The youngster, hailing from Mysore continued to impress one and all with his performances for Karnataka in the Vijay Merchant U-16 South Zone tournament in 2014 as he played a pivotal role in helping the state clinch the title, scoring 461 runs in five innings, that included a knock of 146 against Goa. The Karnataka skipper was the top run-getter in the tournament.
Nikin stepped up his game even further during the “Save the Tiger” Under-16 Cup held earlier this year. He played knocks of 121 (99b,15x4s,1x6s) against Mysore City Gymkhana and 200 not out against Karavali Cricketers en route the final against PET Mandya where he once again produced a captain’s knock of 89* to help his side Jo Jo CC to clinch a ten-wicket victory and thus helping his side lift the trophy.
Overall, Nikin scored 440 runs in four matches and bagged the ‘Player of the Tournament’ and ‘Best Batsman’ awards. He was also awarded the ‘Best Player’ for the U-16 age level at the KSCA Mysuru Zone Annual Awards-2015 held in Mysuru.
His stellar performances caught the attention of the Mysuru Warriors franchise as well who picked him at the 2015 auctions for a prize of Rs 10,000. Making his debut against the Rockstars today, he made a decent 25 with the bat after coming in at No 5 before lighting up the tournament with figures of 3.2-0-11-6 to emerge as the most promising superstar to look out for in the future.