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Cricket gives him a high

PHOTO: V. GANESAN

RIGHT ATTITUDE, GREAT ABILITY K. B. Arun Karthick

The sun cream on his face shimmers under the clear blue sky on a hot afternoon at the ICL-Guru Nanak ground. It’s a new season and a fresh beginning for the young man.

K. B. Arun Karthick loves the heat and the dust, and scoring runs.

Indeed, the 22-year-old right-handed opener is running hot in the TNCA first division league with efforts of 218 not out and 115 against Southern Railway Institute and Alwarpet in the first two games this season.

And in Grand Slam’s remarkable triumphant run last season, Karthick was a key player with over 850 runs, including valuable knocks of 93 in the semi-final against Vijay CC and 158 during the final at the expense of the Jolly Rovers attack.

Karthick played one-day cricket for Tamil Nadu, turned out for Badureliya CC in the Sri Lankan one-day competition and was part of Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

Beginning his journey from the lanes of Vellore, he has dared to chase his dreams. Karthick does give you the impression of being a “tough, strong lad who can take knocks.” His disarming smile masks his struggle.

“He’s dedicated, is willing to learn and has shown good temperament,” says Grand Slam skipper J. R. Madanagopal.

For Karthick, Madanagopal is an inspirational captain. “He encourages you to grow in self-belief. He’s a good motivator and gives us clear roles. We knew what exactly we were doing,” says Karthick.

“Our win last season was all about team-work. There was no selfishness involved,” he adds.

Karthick then reveals a delightful little secret that take cricket back to the days of amateurism in the era of mega-bucks. “We actually played for a pair of sunglasses that vice-captain Sunil Oasis decided to present to the player who got three successive hundreds!”

S. Suresh Kumar, another success story, won the sunglasses with four successive centuries but, true to the Grand Slam spirit of the season, gifted it to Karthick since he scored the most number of runs.

Having learnt his cricket on the matting wickets of Vellore, coping with the wax balls that bounce more, Karthick is a sound player off his back foot. He executes the horizontal bat shots — the cut and the pull — well and tends to rely more on his bottom hand.

The punch off the back-foot is a productive stroke for him. “I am essentially an aggressive batsman but am transforming myself to play in all forms of the game,” he says. Karthick is working on his judgment in the corridor and his driving in the ‘V.’

The top-order batsman is confident of making the Ranji Trophy eleven. “If you make runs, nobody can stop you,” he says.

Karthick has happy memories of the IPL ride where he found himself in the same dressing room as Mathew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Muttiah Muralitharan and M.S. Dhoni. “I learnt a lot, particularly from Hussey. He told me about focus and intensity, both, during practice and on the field.”

The young cricketer did not get a game but caught the eye with his excellent, athletic fielding.

Karthick remembers the inputs from his coach in Vellore, S. Mohan, and the staff at the Guru Nanak College in Chennai. “I learnt to be combative,” he says.

The young man does relish the sniff of a battle. This is precisely why he ranks his big hundred for South Zone against a talkative and aggressive West Zone side in the Vizzy Trophy as his most memorable batting effort so far.

Given his attitude and ability, Arun Karthick is bound to make a mark.

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