Despite being branded as a white-ball spinner, the last IPL was the first season Sai Kishore played more than five matches. (File Photo)In the last IPL, where R Sai Kishore picked up 19 wickets, his dismissal of Krunal Pandya early in the season stood out from the rest. It was a simple caught and bowled, but replays showed it was a carrom ball – something unusual among left-arm spinners – that he had unleashed. It was a delivery not just Krunal, but none saw coming as from the time Jack Iverson delivered the first carrom ball in 1950’s, it has mostly been associated with right-arm finger spinners. “When Queen released ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, everyone thought it was too long for radio because until then no pop song went for 6 minutes. It broke the convention and went on to become a top charter. Why I take that example is, someone must have started it somewhere. Next IPL some other left-arm spinner may bowl the carrom ball,” he says.
There is a reason, right in the middle of a Ranji Trophy season, with the third round beginning Saturday, that the topic is brought up to Sai Kishore. The carrom ball had been part of his repertoire for over six years. “I first bowled in a T20 game in 2019 when DK (Dinesh Karthik) was captain. That game I’d conceded just 12 runs off 4 overs in Eden Gardens, and the only boundary happened to be from the carrom ball and I remember Dinesh na asked me ‘why did you bowl this?’ At that time I wasn’t ready. It was always there inside me to do this.”
The carrom ball to Krunal was in many ways about Sai Kishore getting rid of a fear he has been carrying for long. A left-arm spinner in the classical mould, his strength has been the ability to constantly ask questions by keeping it simple. With his stock deliveries bringing considerable success, there was a hesitation to try other variations. “I always feared if I bowled the carrom ball, I may not remain conventional. It is a fear I’ve overcome now. I had this desire to have more skillset. But I always used to suppress it. As the game evolves, I feel I have got a lot more skill sets which I haven’t displayed till now. When the skill you have is currently getting you rewards, it is hard to jump from that and go in search of a new one. But right now, I’m having that courage and fearlessness to jump to the next level, I feel comfortable,” he says.
As he showed in the IPL, even in the age of T20s, he doesn’t dart. He has won battles against batsmen by varying his lengths and pace and also using the crease to alter the trajectory. And despite showing all signs of being a classical spinner who can make the red-ball talk, there is a notion among the selectors that he is more suited for white-ball. In that context, the 28-year-old adding carrom ball to his armoury seems sensible. But he offers a different perspective, where he believes there is space to do more in red-ball than white. “In terms of red ball bowling, I can’t put it in a box. I have the freedom to do whatever I want and not just worry about how many runs I’m giving all the time. It can happen in T20, but in red ball, it’s okay to play with fire. No need to be conventional,” he says.
He returns to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. “It wasn’t restricted to one genre. It had several varieties. Ashwin na was a very conventional bowler, but he could bowl carrom-ball, back-spinner. Lot of off-spinners have done that. But a left-arm spinner should remain conventional. I want to break it. There is no guarantee that if I bowl a conventional delivery I wouldn’t get hit. At the most, it will be a six. Now, what will happen if the carrom ball gets me three wickets early in the spell? What if it opens up the game? That is a possibility. Maybe the downside is I may give 20 runs, but it is a gamble I’m willing to take,” he explains.
While most conventional spinners don’t prefer to use their variations in red-ball cricket and prefer relying on stock deliveries and testing the patience of the batsmen, Sai Kishore reckons there is more space in the long format. “In white-ball, you have the mindset to contain runs. Runs are gold in white-ball that’s why most spinners dart in T20s. If you can chase 200 runs in 20 overs, every 10 runs is important. Red ball is not like that. Red ball is all about wickets. If you take 20 wickets, you win. I feel you should have all the options available. You should be able to have an unconventional mindset,” he says.
For a spinner who topped the Ranji wicket charts in the 2023-24 season, he hasn’t been part of India A set-up for the longest format. Despite being branded as a white-ball spinner, the last IPL was the first season he played more than five matches. “I used to be surprised,” he says about the view he is more suited to white-ball. But his caller tone, from the song ‘Aandavan Padachan (God Invented)’ released in 1962 sums up his mindset.“Nadanthathu enni, kavalai patal avan madayan” (one who worries about the past is a dunce)”
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