Dinesh Karthik suggested me to shift base from Kerala to Tamil Nadu, reveals Sandeep Warrier
Kerala-born speedster Sandeep Warrier, who is all set to play for Tamil Nadu in the forthcoming domestic season, revealed that it was Dinesh Karthik who convinced him to complete the switch between states. Warrier further attested he is confident of S Sreesanth making a grand comeback.
A tall pacer who can generate ample pace and bounce on any wicket, Kerala-born Sandeep Warrier had his breakthrough season in the 2018/19 Ranji Trophy, a season where he claimed 44 wickets at a remarkable average of 17.54. Albeit playing only a handful of Ranji matches last season, Warrier grabbed 13 wickets at an average just under 23, but realized his dream of playing in the IPL, after being picked by the Kolkata Knight Riders, and also further got his maiden India A call-up.
Ahead of this season, however, the 29-year-old, who is an employee of India Cements and is settled in Chennai, decided to shift base to Tamil Nadu and the move came as a blow for the Kerala side. Shedding light on the move, the right-arm quick revealed that it was Tamil Nadu and KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik who convinced him to move to the state and added that he further consulted with R Prasanna, TN’s assistant coach, before finalizing his move to Tamil Nadu.
“I actually spoke to DK (Dinesh Karthik) bhai about this and he was the one who suggested to me that since I’m employed in Tamil Nadu and everything related to cricket is here, you can change and try coming to Tamil Nadu and play for the state. For me also I thought it’ll be a better option. This conversation happened around January-February after I came back from the New Zealand A tour. We were playing league matches here (in Chennai) when I asked him since I’m playing league here, training in MRF, so everything related to cricket was here. So I asked him: ‘what’s your opinion?’” Sandeep Warrier said during the chat show Homerun with AV with sports commentator Arun Venugopal on his YouTube channel Gethist Creative.
“He told why not talk to (R) Prasanna, he was the assistant coach. So I asked him and he also thought it was a good idea because he’s also the coach of India Cements (Vijay CC). It was a very tough decision for me because I’m going to miss a lot of my friends in Kerala. Cricket has given me a lot of close friends in Kerala whom I can call any time of the day. I’m going to miss them a lot. Yeah, Kerala coach Tinu (Yohanan) bhai was one of the first guys that I spoke to he left it up to me, the association left it up to me. So they didn’t oppose or anything.”
The 29-year-old, who has, till date, played all his cricket for Kerala, revealed that he had not yet received a NOC from the state but attested that he was confident of things progressing post the lockdown.
“I haven’t got it (NOC from Kerala) yet. There’s a delay due to the lockdown. Since I’ve been employed here with India Cements (in Tamil Nadu) last year and I am married and settled here, and my training and bowling is at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, I thought this would be a better time for me to move to Tamil Nadu. I hope I can play as a local player. I don’t know anything about that yet. Once the Lockdown is over we will get to know. We don’t know anything about what’s going to happen, when the season is going to begin, so not thinking about that.”
Like a plethora of other young Kerala fast bowlers, the right-armer, too, looked up to S Sreesanth as a youngster, and speaking of the veteran pacer, who might potentially take Warrier’s place in the Kerala side, the 29-year-old said that he was confident of the 37-year-old making a grand comeback to professional cricket, due to his sheer determination.
“No, I didn’t have the chance to interact with him. But, I hope that will be one of the best comebacks that cricket has even seen. And I know it will be one of the best comebacks that cricket has ever seen because of his determination and skill level,” Warrior said of Sreesanth.
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