Support: Shrijith says his father always pushed him to do the right things. | SANDEEP SAXENA
Krishnan Shrijith missed the presence of his late father, who passed away about three weeks ago, but the latter’s counsel clung on to him as the southpaw cracked a 125-ball century on his First Class debut for Karnataka against Uttar Pradesh here on Thursday.
“I would like to dedicate this hundred to my dad, who recently passed away, and my family back home,” an emotional Shrijith told The Hindu.
My dad always pushed me to do the right things. He always said: “Work hard, regardless of whether you are in the team or not. That drove me to work twice as hard and hopefully we will see the result in the coming days,” he added.
Shrijith’s celebrations upon becoming the 10th Karnataka batter to score a hundred on First Class debut were understandably subdued, but his teammates gave him a rousing ovation. After all, he had pulled Karnataka out of trouble as the Mayank Agarwal-led side has been reduced to five for two in reply to Uttar Pradesh’s 89.
The 28-year-old, coming off a 51-ball century in the Maharaja T20 Trophy, said that the tournament helped him prepare for the next level.
“We are playing 10 to 12 games in a 15-day tournament… We play a lot of high-intensity games, and we play back-to-back games in different situations. It makes you mentally stronger; to adjust each and every day,” he explained.
As Shrijith aspires to cement his place in the team after several years on the sidelines, Karnataka will hope it has finally found the answer to its wicketkeeper-batter conundrum.
Published – November 15, 2024 11:10 am IST
