Kartik Tyagi, one of the most prominent pacer from India has reaped lots of success in the early stages of his cricket career. He performed exceedingly well for Under 19 India and got picked by Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021.
The youngster took 9 wickets in his debut season. But, he was not retained by the franchise. However, other franchises had a close eye on his name in the IPL 2022 Mega-Auction. Interestingly, he was picked by former IPL winners Sunrisers Hyderabad.
SRH Pacer Went Down The Memory Lane
In a recent interview, Kartik Tyagi himself revealed a surprising fact about former Chennai Super Kings player Suresh Raina. He said that during his Under-16 days, Suresh Raina came as a helping hand for him.
He added that there was a season when he took 50 wickets in just 7 games and this was the time when everyone started noticing him as a bright talent.
“Like I always say one thing, that after Under-16, Suresh Raina entered my life like a god because people started to recognize me when I was selected for Ranji Trophy. When I was 13, I participated in the Under-14 trials and this is where my cricketing journey began. I started playing for the Under-14 team and then Under-16. In the U-16, there was a season where I got 50 wickets in 7 matches. That is where the selectors started noticing that there is a player who has been taking a lot of wickets at the State level.”
“Despite taking plenty of wickets, we reached the finals but lost. It was there that Gyanendra Pandey sir spotted me and he said that he was impressed by my performances and he will promote me going forward”.
The youngster shed light on what happened to him during his Ranji Camp. He mentioned that the Suresh Raina watched him bowling and told him that he will soon get an opportunity to play at a good level in the future.
“From there I reached the State Ranji Trophy camp. When I arrived, I was just a 16-year-old youngster while the others were established, players. Then there was an incident where Suresh Raina had also come”, he further revealed.
“I used to be very silent and was observing everything. He was about to leave after his practice, but I don’t know why he came back to the ground. He then approached me and asked me about what was my role. I told him that I was a bowler and then he gave me a chance to bowl in the nets. He saw my performance and told me that I liked your bowling and I will ensure you get chances in the future. Personally, for me, it was a good thing that someone like Suresh Raina noticed my performance.”
“I was a little shocked that such a big player has complimented me and for a moment, I thought that he was joking. When he said that I was doing well, I still couldn’t believe that I will get a chance to play in the coming days.”
