Shane Warne didn't ask me to change anything with my bowling and batting, says K Gowtham

08/19/2018

K Gowtham has stated that Shane Warne has been a very crucial man in his transformation and development into a better professional and gave him the opportunity to express himself. The Karnataka all-rounder has also spoken highly of Rahul Dravid, who he once dismissed at practice.

Gowtham, 29, is uncapped at international leve and has only recently become a regular fixture in the state team. In all, he has played 22 first-class matches, 18 List A games, and 42 T20s after beginning his career in the Ranji trophy in 2012 against Bengal. In February 2017, he was picked up by Mumbai Indians for the 2017 IPL and in January 2018, he was bought by Rajasthan Royals and that's how he got an opportunity to train under Australian legend, Shane Warne.

K Gowtham has stated that he never really considered himself as a very good cricketer because his record figures were mediocre, but he has been developing eventually because of getting brilliant opportunities like training under cricketing legends like Shane Warne, who he has given a lot of credits behind his success. He recalls the first day of his Rajasthan Royals' pre-training when he expected a nothing more than a few pleasantries from Warne, but what he got came in as a huge confidence booster.

“Can you imagine, a legend who has 1000 international wickets coming to me and saying ‘KG, you're my project for IPL 2018’? I was glad he had seen what I'd done previously. Initially, I was like 'okay, what does he expect from me?' But I realised how easy it was to connect with him at a human level. It was just like two individuals having an easy-going discussion where there is communication from both sides. There couldn't have been a better welcome than that,” Gowtham was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.

"I was glad he had seen what I'd done previously. Initially, I was like 'okay, what does he expect from me?' But I realised how easy it was to connect with him at a human level. It was just like two individuals having an easy-going discussion where there is communication from both sides. There couldn't have been a better welcome than that 11 ball 33 to help the side pull off a heist. With the new ball he was skiddy, wicket to wicket bowler whose role was to restrict runs. His change of role with the bat was a deviation for him at the IPL which was a bit different from what he played at Karnataka's limited overs set-up, but he says that Warne didn't ask him to change anything.

“Shane didn't tell me to change anything with my batting or bowling. It was more on mental strength and how you come back from tough situations. How your mindset has to always remain as if nothing is wrong - whether you take 4 for 20 or 0 for 48. He kept saying 'pause, think over, what best can be done.' Things like how you observe subtly a batsman's feet movements to see what he's trying to do next, and what you can do to ensure he doesn't do that, either through your variations or by changing the field. How you can enjoy the game on the field, how intensity matters the most, these are things which gives you a lot of confidence to get into the game. Basically he's a big influencer who carries a lot of positive energy,” Gowtham said.

Gowtham has credited all that he has learnt from the IPL training for his inclusion in the India -A side, that now has been playing the quadrangular series in Andhra Pradesh, where he plans to carry forward his form from the IPL and showcase himself as a better player. In the 'A' tri-series in England this summer, Gowtham's numbers were unimpressive: two wickets and four runs in three matches. But that minor blip isn't something that he's worried about.

Having picked up by a franchise like Rajasthan Royals has been a boon to him as he speaks largely of the side, may it be the training staff or fellow teammates, for helping him throughout and shape himself into a better professional in order to showcase himself as a better mature individual on the field.

“Royals gave me the freedom to be myself, express myself. That has helped. As a franchise, they backed each and every player to come good in their role. I wouldn't say just in batting, bowling or fielding. As a professional, you are anyway supposed to do all these things, but when you get the liberty and when you get the chance to explore facets of your game on your own, it makes a huge difference. I interacted a lot with Ish Sodhi, who had a lot of ideas. He hasn't played much here, so he used to ask me about varying pace, getting the best out of these surfaces. With Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, it was about preparation and match awareness.

Bowling, I always used to trust Jos, because he used to give me inputs. In fact, you can see in a couple of videos where he stops me and then comes up and gives suggestion about fields, and how to bowl. All these things are just the cricketing side of it. For me, it's the human side of them that I enjoyed the most. How simple they are as people and how they're receptive to your thoughts. Their work ethic, understanding their culture, their values - these are things I try and derive. Yes, cricket is important but these are also things I try and pick up. The ethics what an international cricketer carries, I wanted to get into their mindset. I'm a spinner, Jofra Archer is a fast bowler, so skill-sets are different, but mindset can remain the same. Mental strengths, how do they think about the game, those things I envy and helped me to up my game,” Gowtham added.

Gowtham has been lucky enough to not only get the guidance of Shane Warne, but he also has bagged the opportunity to learn under the Indian legend, Rahul Dravid, who has been his coach for the India-A side. Gowtham speaks largely of the expertise provided by Dravid.

“The best thing about him is, he won't unnecessarily say things. He says something only when it is necessary, but he used to challenge you. One day he came into the nets and said try and get me out, I was like 'okay'. It was an optional training. I said I'll bowl you six balls and get you out, and I did. That was fun. You can't call him a coach-coach kind of person, he's someone who can talk to you about any situation on the field; he's faced so many. It may be nets, but getting 'The Wall' out gave me a lot of satisfaction,” Gowtham said.

Shane Warne didn't ask me to change anything with my bowling and batting, says K Gowtham

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