Little known KC Cariappa bought by KKR for 2.4 crore

February 17, 2015

Bengaluru, Feb 17: It took some time coming, but by far, the biggest surprise package of this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) player auctions in Bengaluru turned out to be a local boy. Konganda Charamanna (or KC) Cariappa, a very highly-rated mystery spinner in the Karnataka cricket circuit, was purchased by defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a whopping Rs.2.4 crore. k c cariappa

An unknown in India’s domestic circles, Cariappa shot to fame in the 2014 edition of the Karnataka Premier League (KPL), an inter-state Twenty20 tournament organized by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). Cariappa’s impressive displays in the KPL, where he picked up 11 wickets in six matches representing the Bijapur Bulls, earned him a call-up to the preliminary squad of the Karnataka Ranji Trophy. Besides, he has represented Karnataka Under-19s in limited over competitions. Known to be a limited-overs specialist, Cariappa represents Socials Cricket Club in Bengaluru’s premier club cricket competition.

Sudhindra Shinde, Cariappa’s personal coach reckons that while the limited overs formats are his strength, his performances in long-format cricket have also been improving. Shinde, a former Karnataka Ranji cricketer himself, says, “His main skill is to spin the ball both ways. Not just skill, he’s got great control for a spinner and importantly, his reading of the game is very impressive.” During one of the KPL matches against Mysore, Cariappa, says Shinde, was all over Manish Pandey, before scalping him. Shinde adds, “He’s a mature, thinking cricketer, who reads various situations very well.” While Cariappa’s purchase by KKR might have surprised those who follow the sport, people around him, including Shinde say that they’d been expecting it. “We had planned his career path, and we knew that the IPL wasn’t far away. So, this is not as much of a surprise to us,” he says, before adding, “We were aware of their (IPL franchises) interest.” KKR and other franchises were monitoring Cariappa’s feats at the local level. It was during KPL that the Kolkata-based franchise made their initial move, identifying Cariappa’s exploits in the Twenty20 tournament through a local scout named Srikanth to monitor his performances.

The only surprise, Shinde says, was the money he went for—a whopping Rs.2.4 crore. In a phone interview, Cariappa clarified that he was not a video analyst, as some news reports said. “I am just a player.” In fact, Srikanth, the KKR scout who followed him through the KPL and recommended him to the franchise, happened to be the video analyst of his team, the Bijapur Bulls.? Cariappa said he wasn’t expecting the Rs.2.4 crore KKR paid for him. “To be honest, I was expecting the base price (of Rs.10 lakh).”? On his bowling style, he said, “I began by playing tennis ball cricket. Leather ball cricket happened by chance, and once I started bowling with the leather ball, the people around me encouraged me to bowl.” He added, “My stock delivery is the leg spinner and I bowl the carrom ball and I am working harder on my off-spin,” he added. Cariappa further said that his action was legal (as per BCCI and ICC regulations) and in fact, (as reported earlier in this story) does not resemble Sri Lankan Ajantha Mendis or West Indies spinner Sunil Narine. “My action has been the same since I started playing tennis ball cricket,” he said. His bowling arsenal includes a sharp carrom ball, a back of the hand googly and according to his team-mates, has recently developed an off-spinner.

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News Network
July 18,2020

Johannesburg, Jul 18: Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Saturday mourned the demise of former spinner Ismail 'Baboo' Ebrahim who died in Durban at the age of 73.

"Baboo was one of the outstanding South African spin bowlers of the 1960s and 1970s who would undoubtedly have played as many Test matches for his country as the 48 first-class games to which he was limited," CSA said in a statement.

In those matches, he took 179 wickets at an average of 21.33 with an economy rate of 2.12 including 8 five-wicket hauls and 2 ten-wicket hauls.

The left-arm spinner only had one opportunity on the international stage when he played for a SA Invitation XI against the International Wanderers at Kingsmead in 1976.

"At the age of 29, he was in his prime and took a match-winning 6/66 in the second innings, his victims including international captains, Greg Chappell of Australia and Mike Denness of England. It was a clear indication of what he could have achieved on grounds around the world at the highest level had he been given the opportunity. He was a master of flight and spin and had a good arm ball to back it up," the statement read.

His ability to perform at this level had become apparent much earlier when he went to watch the Australians at practice before their Test match against South Africa in 1970.

He persuaded the Australians to let him bowl to them and made an immediate impression, bowling experienced Test batsman Ian Redpath and impressing the likes of Ian Chappell and Ashley Mallett, the latter being Australia's leading spinner of the 1970s.

He had one season for Radcliffe in the Lancashire Central League when he took 62 wickets at 14.62 apiece.

Baboo finally got his chance to represent his country in Masters events in one of which he dismissed both Sir Vivian Richards and Gordon Greenidge.

"Baboo Ebrahim was one of the countless number of outstanding cricketers who was denied the opportunity to display his talents to the world and live his cricketing dreams," said CSA Acting Chief Executive, Dr Jacques Faul.

"On behalf of the CSA Family I extend our deepest sympathy to his family, friends and cricketing colleagues," he added. 

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News Network
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has proposed radical changes in the LBW laws, stating that a batsman should be given out leg before as long as the ball is hitting the stumps irrespective of the spot of its landing and impact.

Chappell also said captains should agree on one way of working up the ball which will encourage swing bowling, even as the ICC is considering the use of artificial substances to shine the ball instead of sweat and saliva in post-COVID-19 scenario.

"The new lbw law should simply say: 'Any delivery that strikes the pad without first hitting the bat and, in the umpire's opinion, would go on to hit the stumps is out regardless of whether or not a shot is attempted'," he wrote in a column for ESPNcricinfo.

"Forget where the ball pitches and whether it strikes the pad outside the line or not; if it's going to hit the stumps, it's out."

The 76-year-old said the change in lbw law would attract expected criticism from the batsmen but it would make the game more fair.

"There will be screams of horror - particularly from pampered batsmen - but there are numerous positives this change would bring to the game. Most important is fairness.

"If a bowler is prepared to attack the stumps regularly, the batsman should only be able to protect his wicket with the bat. The pads are there to save the batsman from injury not dismissal.

"It would also force batsmen to seek an attacking method to combat a wristspinner pitching in the rough outside the right-hander's leg stump," said Chappell.

He cited Sachin Tendulkar's example on how he negotiated Shane Warne's round the wicket tactic during the 1997-98 Test series in India.

"Contrast Sachin Tendulkar's aggressive and successful approach to Shane Warne coming round the wicket in Chennai in 1997-98 with a batsman who kicks away deliveries pitching in the rough and turning in toward the stumps. Which would you rather watch?

"The current law encourages "pad play" to balls pitching outside leg while this change would force them to use their bat. The change would reward bowlers who attack the stumps and decrease the need for negative wide deliveries to a packed off-side field," he said.

Chappell said his proposed change to the lbw law would also cut down "frivolous" DRS challenges.

"This change to the lbw law would also simplify umpiring and result in fewer frivolous DRS challenges. Consequently, it would speed up a game that has slowed drastically in recent times.

"It would also make four-day Tests an even more viable proposition as mind-numbing huge first-innings totals would be virtually non-existent."

On the substitute of shining the ball without sweat and saliva, Chappell said international captains should find out a way of working up the ball.

"With ball-tampering always a hot topic, in the past I've suggested that administrators ask international captains to construct a list (i.e. the use of natural substances) detailing the things bowlers feel will help them to swing the ball.

"From this list, the administrators should deem one method to be legal with all others being punishable as illegal," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

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News Network
January 30,2020

Jan 30: Three days after Los Angeles basketball great Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others perished in a helicopter crash, his wife, Vanessa, broke her silence with an Instagram message saying she was “completely devastated” by their loss.

The social media text was posted alongside a recent family photo of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant with all four of their daughters - Gianna, who died with her father, along with the couple’s eldest, Natalia, 17, 3-year-old Bianka, and the youngest, Capri, born in June 2019.

Kobe Bryant and the couple’s second daughter, knicknamed Gigi, died on Sunday when the helicopter they were flying in en route to the Mamba Sports Academy for a girl’s basketball tournament crashed in foggy weather on a hillside northwest of Los Angeles.

Gianna Bryant was a member of the Mamba team due to compete that day. Her father, who retired from the National Basketball Association in 2016 after 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, was the coach of his daughter’s team. ]

The pilot and six more passengers were also killed - two other 13-year-old girls involved in the tournament, three of their parents and another coach. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

The death of Bryant, 41, an 18-time NBA all-star, five-time Lakers champion and one of the world’s most admired sports figures, unleashed an outpouring of grief and tributes from fans, fellow athletes and politicians around the globe.

“My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time,” Vanessa Bryant, 37, a former model, wrote on her Instagram account.

“We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri,” she added.

The message goes on to say: “We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately. There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now.

“I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon.”

She directed anyone wishing to “further Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in youth sports” to visit the site MambaSports Foundation.org.

There has been no word yet on funeral arrangements.

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