KS Bharat

Some Lesser Known Facts About Srikar Bharat

• Srikar Bharat is an Indian cricketer from Andhra Pradesh. He plays the role of a wicketkeeper who can bat up the order and can play aggressively when required. He gained the limelight in a match against Delhi Capitals when Royal Challengers Bangalore required five runs of the last ball. Srikar Bharat hit the six of the low full toss towards long-on of the bowling of Avesh Khan and helped his side registering their ninth win of the IPL 2021.
• After that match, he revealed that he asked his partner and the senior batter, Glenn Maxwell if he wanted the strike but he said, ^[7]The Times of India
  

  “You can finish it off.”

  Srikar Bharat further added,

  “The last over… me and Maxi were talking about what are the areas we can access. He said, watch the ball and get bat on the ball… The last 3 balls, you know I asked him whether to run, he said ‘no, you can finish it off. It gave me a lot of confidence. I was just focused on one ball which is coming next. rather than thinking of too many things. I kept it very simple and as a team we did very well and we pulled it off.”

  Scenes from the #RCB camp as @KonaBharat finishes it off in style.#VIVOIPL #RCBvDC pic.twitter.com/ApyHdTuJ9U

  — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 8, 2021

• The main reason behind joining cricket was that he was a naughty child. While he plays in the street, he would break the window glasses of the neighbors and they would come into his house and complain about him. Frustrated parents then decided to put him in a cricket academy in order to keep him away from mischievous activities. For around 7 to 8 years, he practiced in the net. He once told that he started playing cricket just for fun. Also, he wanted to stay away from school. His father is not very strict but very concerned about his future.

  

• He made his first-class debut in 2013 against Kerala. During the U-16 practice matches, he ran out of form. As a result, his father asked him to choose between cricket and studies. Bharat was a bright student in his school.

  

• He never kept wickets until the age of 17. It’s only when his state required a keeper who can bat as well, he started doing wicketkeeping. Although, he did the regular practice of wicketkeeping before that. But more often he was a slip or a gully fielder. Seeing his talent in the field, his coach advised him to go for wicketkeeping. The first time he played the role of a wicketkeeper was against Hyderabad in a Ranji Trophy.

  

• In 2018, he got selected in India’s Blue side for the Duleep Trophy followed by his inclusion in the Test series against Bangladesh. In 2020, he got selected for an Australian tour in place of the injured Rishabh Pant. The same year, he got selected as the standby player for the test series against England. Then again he got selected in May 2021 in place of injured Saha but this time also he was unable to play a game. In 2015, he was bought by Delhi Daredevils as the reserve wicketkeeper in the side.

  

• From 2018 to 2019, Bharat has played 11 unofficial Tests for India ‘A’ against the ‘A’ teams of South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, and England. In this period, he scored a total of 758 runs with three centuries and two fifties, and 47 dismissals as a keeper.

  

• During the COVID lockdown, Bharat did one and a half-hour of training every day which include strength and core training. He follows it up with one hour of shadow practice in front of the mirror where he visualizes the shots he would play after the lockdown period. In an interview, he said that eating, sleeping, and drinking in the right amount and proper conversation with the right people is very important.

• After the match on 27 January 2021 between Andhra and Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Trophy, Srikar Bharat was surprised when he saw his mobile phone loaded with congratulatory messages that he is been selected in a team India test squad for the series against England. Remembering that moment, Bharat said,
  

  “I was overwhelmed. Watching youngsters performing well in the recently concluded series against Australia had given me great confidence. Having played for India A for over three years, I’ve been waiting for my time, although, honestly, I did not expect the call.”

  He further adds,

  “Playing for the country is what everyone dreams of, and playing at the highest level is something for which we cannot even express adequate joy and pride. This is the moment every youngster would like to live for.”

  Previously, he was added to the Indian squad for the cover of the wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha in November 2019 during the second pink ball test against Bangladesh but he didn’t get the chance to play any game in that series. The other wicketkeeper was Rishabh Pant but he was released to the Mushtaq Ali Trophy to get practice for the limited-overs series against West Indies next month. According to the new ICC rule 2017, a substitute wicketkeeper can take a place of an onfield keeper if he happens to suffer from any injury. Interestingly, after the series, the team’s captain Virat Kohli handed over the winning trophy to him as a sweet gesture.

  

• He was bought for 20 Lakhs INR by the Bangalore Franchise in 2021. Previously, he was bought by Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) for 10 Lakhs INR under the captaincy of former Indian speedster Zaheer Khan in 2015 but could not bag his place in the playing eleven for the whole IPL season. Interestingly, Bharat played the role of the ball boy in 2005 during a match when Zaheer was on the national side. In the same match, MS Dhoni scored 148 runs against Pakistan in Visakhapatnam. Bharat then continued the role of the ball boy in every international match at Vizag for certain years as he was able to get good exposure to the international playing conditions.

  

• He made his first List-A century while playing for the India A team against Australia A team at the KSCA Stadium in Bengaluru on 10 September 2021. The Australian side was batting first and scored 346 runs in their first inning. In reply, India lost their first four wickets for 259 runs. Then KS Bharat came out to join Shubman Gill and had a partnership of 41 runs before Gill got dismissed for 50 runs. He went on to score 106 runs off 186 balls and took the score to 505 runs. The game and series both ended in a draw.

• About the cricket legend and India ‘A’ coach Rahul Dravid, he said,
  

  “During our India-A stint, we played a lot under Rahul sir, and we picked up a lot from him. Playing while he is watching gives you a different high. He always tells us to keep it simple, and his influence over the years has been great.”

  

• On 19 December 2023, Bharat was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs. 50 lakh in the 2024 IPL auction, held at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.