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UAE legpinner Karthik Meiyappan revels in World Cup glory and dreams of more

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“Indeed, it [the hat-trick] It took some time to get into it,” said the 22-year-old Emirati legspinner.

“The family support I’ve had over the years has been unbelievable. Coming home and being accepted by them is the best part. I can be vulnerable in front of my family. Expressing my emotions at the time – it couldn’t have been scripted any better.”

Karthik’s father, PL Meiyappan, is also a legspinner and played league cricket in Tamil Nadu before moving to the UAE for work.

“My dad wanted to continue playing cricket and was even picked up by college. [in Madurai]’ said Karthik, ‘but I don’t think the family was able to support him at the time, that’s what cricket was for him. [career] was cut off.

“It’s probably something he lives through me, and I believe he’s a proud father.”

Karthik is a modern-day wrist spinner who throws the field and makes his spins and sizzles more than his broken leg.It was those wrong men who knocked out Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka in Sri Lanka’s 15th innings that made him Only fifth bowler to score hat-trick in men’s T20 World Cup.

“Obviously when I bowl to lefties [Rajapaksa and Asalanka]my plan is to take it away [from them] Because I think they are more dominant on the leg side, they have a wider range of shots, especially Rajapaksa,” Karthik said.

“When Asalanka came in, Vriitya [Aravind, the UAE wicketkeeper] Asked if I wanted to put on the legspinner but I don’t think he’s in shape so again I’m rooting for myself to play my best ball. I told Vriitiya I would back my mistake’un again, luckily it was pitched in the right place.

“Then, when Shanaka came in, even Vriitiya had no doubts about what I was going to hit, so I just hit the wrong ball again and let him go through the pad.

Karthik, who started out as a seamer and mimicked the moves of Brett Lee as a kid before realizing his body couldn’t handle the load of fast bowling, explained that because of the way his moves were set up, googles were more difficult for him than legs. Spin is easier.

“As they say, I’m more vertical and 12 o’clock. It’s easier for me to bowl with a google ball than a leg spin because of the leverage I have on the ball. It’s easier to break my wrist and fingers. Easy to hit the wrong ball” un. Legspin is also something I back myself pitching, but in T20s I feel wrong’un is my weapon to back my pitching eight or nine times out of ten. “

Karthik dabbled in offspin and legspin before becoming a quick legbreak-googly bowler – species that are in high demand in T20 cricket today. But before becoming a professional cricketer, he took chess quite seriously and even played in some state tournaments in Tamil Nadu.

“Chess is something I inherited from my family,” he said. “My grandfather and my uncle playing chess and sports has always been in the family background. When I was living in Coimbatore for two years, I was just playing ditch cricket. cCess was a popular thing [for me] Because I am so eager to grasp things by observing them.My dad can also play chess, and [when] My mom asked me to coach in Coimbatore and I found that was something I could do.My parents tried to put me through professional courses, but they [the organisers] Asked me to stop my studies and just focus on chess, which we couldn’t do at the time.Chess is something I love but once I move to Dubai [in 2007], which is not a big deal here, so I turned to cricket. “

“I think that was a real turning point for me,” he said of that game against Singapore. “Since the game, I feel like everything is going well.

“I came to Chennai for a month to work with Venkataramana under Robin [Singh, the UAE coach] Mr. Guidance. He made a few tweaks to my bowling game that really worked for me. A hat-trick is the icing on the cake because there is a lot of work behind it. “

Karthik has also been a net bowler for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, starting with the Sri Lankan legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga and his heroes Dhoni.

“Shane Warne is someone I look up to, but lately I’ve been following Wanindu closely. We bowl in a similar way and style, so I try to take a lot from his bowling. Then all of a sudden I’m celebrating. his wayI took my celebration from Wanindu – not Neymar – and even told him after the World Cup against Sri Lanka that I copied his celebration.

“Before the Irish series [in October 2021], I used to work at CSK. I spoke to MS Dhoni about how I dealt with their sweeps as Ireland were more of a sweeper. So, he gave me advice, like I said, you’re learning the best stuff. “

Karthik will now have the chance to showcase his wares in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament, which kicks off this week. He believes the tournament will help bridge the gap between Emirati players in domestic and international cricket.Unions may also become First ILT20 in UAE in 2023.

“Practicing with international players is different than competing against them. There’s a lot to learn and you get used to the exposure, which is important to bridge the gap between prospective teams and Test nations. T10 is a short format and is played in the At the end of the day as a bowler you still have to be aggressive and want to dominate the game, which I like.”

He is looking forward to playing for the Chennai Warriors alongside Shanaka and Rajapaksa in the league – and reminding them that they were the victims of his World Cup hat-trick. “Even before the World Cup, when we had our welcome lunch, I spoke to Shanaka, [Maheesh] Theekshana about playing with the Chennai Braves, but now I’m definitely going to Shanaka to say a few words about the hat trick ball. “(laugh)

With a T20 World Cup hat-trick against the Asian Cup winners, does Karthik have a case for progress from the Chennai Super Kings netting?

“I haven’t thought about it yet,” he said. “But if I get the process right and the outcome is right, that’s a by-product. It’s going to happen, if it’s meant to be. Obviously, I’ve put myself out there and my chances are better now than before, but I Doesn’t use my imagination. Whatever opportunity presents itself to me, I’m sure to grab it with both hands.”

Deivarayan Muthu is Associate Editor of ESPNcricinfo

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