OPINION
Follow UsAt approximately 6.30 AM IST, the Indian players were out in the middle, standing for the national anthem. It was Indian men’s first appearance at the Asian Games, it was more historic than anything.
But for some, it was their first-ever appearance in Indian blue. The wait overwhelmed their psyche as the 26-year-old Sai Kishore didn’t hide his emotions on camera, as tears started swelling up in his eyes. You could sense what was riding on this game before a ball was even bowled.
Sai Kishore’s emotions only amplified it in the right possible way.
For far too long, the Asian Games remained a low priority for the cricketing board, who were largely content with not participating in the sporting event. But everything changed this year, and the tear was perhaps hitting the right notes.
Everyone had caught a glimpse of this occasion, but none really understood the hardship behind it; none understood from where these emotions flowed.
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2021
Just a day before India’s third T20I against Sri Lanka, the Indian team were in a spot of bother. Shikhar Dhawan’s team was already running short of players, considering the long list of players out with COVID, with a few more injured.
They were already reduced to just 13 available players. The R Premadasa Stadium has the tendency to aid spinners and slow down progressively.
Sai Kishore, at the age of 24, was all but certain to play in the third T20I.
And just when everyone assumed that naturally, India handed a cap to Sandeep Warrier, his first and only appearance thus far for India.
Sri Lanka went on to maul India in that particular clash. Unsurprisingly, it was Wanindu Hasaranga, whose spell of 4/9 that stunned India. It was a moment that could have thrown a spanner in the works of any player, but not for Kishore.
That’s when the virtue of patience became more prominent with the Tamil Nadu spinner. He had learnt it perhaps the hard way but nevertheless learnt it at the right time. Then came the realisation that life can hit you harder when Gujarat Titans didn’t consider him for the 2023 IPL.
“It is fine because only twelve could play, so sometimes, as individuals, you get selfish and think you should play. I just feel you should pick yourself in such a situation and take your game up there at the international level,” Kishore told Cricket.com earlier this year before the Asian Games.
Also Read: With sights set on Asian Games gold, Sai Kishore is 'ready' to step up
Two months later, he did exactly that: he took his game to the international level. India’s squad for the Asian Games has been branded the ‘IPL-squad’, but for the left-arm spinner, it is a starting point for a culmination of all his hard work at the domestic level.
The endless toil, the endless feathers added to his cap and the endless time he has spent at the boundary ropes thinking about his game have all culminated in those tears. It is not something that you could force out of your eyes.
All he needed was that chance.
If fate had him miss out on an international cap in 2021, it was fate that made him get one in 2023. The left-arm spinner was included straight into the playing XI from the reserves, and he showed why the management had faith in the left-arm spinner over the other existing options.
At the domestic level, the 26-year-old’s work was almost instantly recognizable. There weren’t a lot of spinners who were ready to bowl across phases. Even if there were a few, they weren’t keen on making their presence known with the bat. And if they were capable with the bat, they didn’t have much of an arsenal in their bowling armory.
“It is impossible for me to say that I can beat all of them, I’m not running that rat race, I’m content with what I have, and I’m still improving,” said Kishore.
Sai Kishore is a firm believer in living a content life.
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Spin was always going to play a crucial role in China. At least, that’s the picture that women’s cricket had painted. Come towards the end of the tournament, to the final, the tracks were almost a nightmare for the batters.
On Tuesday (October 3), when Yashasvi Jaiswal was going gung-ho, it felt like a wicket with plenty of runs. For most of the encounter, it was a wicket with plenty of runs, with the only exception being when the Tamil Nadu spinner was bowling alongside Ravi Bishnoi.
If one was bowling defensive lines, slipping in a few turners in between, the other was potent with the delivery that turned the other way. Nepal bowlers averaged 9.95 runs per over, and barring the two Indian spinners aforementioned, Indian bowlers were averaging 10.52.
So, it remained a wicket where runs were available in plenty. It was up to the bowler to maximize their gains from such a wicket. And it required them to use their skills in the best possible manner. During his spell of 1/25, all Sai Kishore did was exactly that: he instilled more weight on the virtue of patience and stuck by his strength.
The left-arm spinner consistently hit the hard length, bowling a staggering 75% of deliveries on a good length, where he just went for 19 runs out of his 18 deliveries and picked up the wicket of the dangerous Kushal Bhurtel.
Out in the field, however, the all-rounder underlined another virtue, one of hard work with his fielding - where he had three catches - next to his name. Despite short boundaries, in-form batters, and a left-hander at the crease, the left-arm spinner showed why the management trusted him in the first place.
Asian Games perhaps isn’t that prestigious of competitions yet for cricketers, but the Tamil Nadu man brushes shoulders with some of the top athletes from the state and understands the value of it more than most.
“Very excited about the Asian Games, I really train with a lot of Table tennis players, and I know how big a tournament the Asian Games is and how big the tournament is globally as well,” he had to say.
Sai Kishore’s cricketing journey has just started, on the grandest of stages.
