Unknown KC Cariappa now a crorepati

Each Karnataka Premier League (KPL) wicket has fetched KC Cariappa Rs21.81 lakh (approx). The finger spinner from Coorg in Karnataka has become a crorepati on Monday after IPL defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders bought him at the auction for Rs 2.40 crore.

Cariappa became one of the surprise purchases at the auction, someone who has not been heard outside Karnataka's cricketing circles. Cariappa is 20-year-old, a leg-spinner who played for Bijapur Bulls in the September 2014 KPL picking up 11 wickets from six games. Among his victims were Manish Pandey and KL Rahul.

Cariappa was named in the Karnataka Ranji Trophy probables but could not break into the XI. He has not played List A for his state. But things could change now.

"I did not expect to be bought for Rs 2.40 crore. I was only expecting to go for base price," the youngster who has completed PUC second year (equivalent to Class 12) told dna after the auction.

From being a nobody to being the talk of the country in a single day, Cariappa is aware of the pressures that come with it. "Whether I went for a crore or for a few lakh, it does not matter. All that matters is that I should do well, having been picked up by the IPL defending champions. And, I have to give my 200 or 500 per cent for the team," Cariappa said from Bangalore.

Cariappa started playing cricket at the age of 16. "I used to play tennis ball cricket and that's how I developed into a finger spinner. I am basically a leg-spinner who occasionally bowls off-spin for variation," Cariappa said.

Cariappa's performances in KPL were noticed by KKR as the matches were beamed live on Sony Six. KKR Performance and Strategies Analyst, AR Srikanth, had told the 'mystery bowler' Cariappa to do well in KPL and that he would get a chance at KKR.

"After KPL, I was asked to go to join KKR in Hyderabad during last year's Champions League T20. I bowled in the nets for 10-15 days and learnt a lot bowling alongside West Indies spinner Sunil Narine. He told me that I should gain experience by playing in a lot of matches," Cariappa said.

Though his cricketing idols are Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, Cariappa admires Narine a lot.

Cariappa was helped along the way by former Karnataka batsman Sudhindra Shinde, who runs a club, Social Cricketers, in Bangalore. It was Shinde who picked Cariappa for Bijapur Bulls in KPL auction.

Cariappa's Bijapur Bulls' teammate and former Karnataka Ranji batsman, Deepak Chougule, likened Cariappa's bowling to Narine. "Cariappa is a special bowler. He is more or less like Narine. He varies his pace and spin and is not easy for batsmen to pick. He is also a brilliant fielder and a very level-headed guy," said Chougule, who scored 400 runs in a day for Karnataka U-13 in Chennai in 1997.

Cariappa will feel at home with KKR as he has three state players to go back to – fellow Coorgi Robin Uthappa, R Vinay Kumar and Manish Pandey.

KNOW CARIAPPA

Full Name: Konganda Charamanna Cariappa
Born: April 13, 1994
Major teams: Bijapur Bulls

CARIAPPA IN KPL:
6 matches, 11 wickets, 4/19 best, 12.00 average, 6.00 economy rate