'Don’t give away easy runs': Andhra Pradesh workhorse KV Sasikanth's bowling mantra

Maintaining an economy-rate of under three isn’t a cakewalk in any format and especially when a bowler is among the wickets consistently. But Andhra’s KV Sasikanth is one such bowler who has been exceptional in performing both the tasks.

The medium pacer has already scalped more than 20 wickets in four Ranji Trophy matches this season and has also maintained an economy rate of less than three.

In an exclusive chat with CricketNext, the Andhra bowler talked about his knack of picking wickets and not giving away easy runs, his fitness regimes and the value Hanuma Vihari brings to the side.

“I have spent time with my senior fast bowlers like Vijaykumar, Siva Kumar. I didn’t get a game for two-three years but got an opportunity to watch them from close quarters during that period. So, what they used to do was that they won’t give you easy runs and that’s what I have learnt from them. I have had a number of chats with them about the same as well,” Sasikanth explained.

Asked about his fitness regime, the right-arm bowler lauded the support staff and trainer for taking good care of the players and also explained how bowling more and more in the nets helps during the match days.

“It’s been four matches and I have bowled almost 150-160 overs. It all depends upon the bowling endurance. The more you bowl in the nets, the more you do the fitness things. Also, our support staff and trainer is taking great care of us,” he said.

The white-ball format is a different ball game and when quizzed about the same, the Andhra player said that it’s more about the match situations and the players have to adapt accordingly.

“It depends on the match. It’s really a fast game and we need to go with that flow and adapt accordingly. Red-ball cricket is about staying there in the field for four days and focus a lot more. White-ball depends upon the situation and the scenarios which comes quickly and we have to react accordingly,” Sasikanth said.

Andhra have so far played four games of which they have won two and suffered defeats in the remaining.

Sasikanth says the next fixture against Delhi scheduled to begin on 10th January at the Arun Jaitley Stadium is an important one as far as the points table is concerned.

“It’s going well so far, winning games for Andhra and three more games to go so looking forward to that,” he said. “Each game is new and (I want to) take it match by match. So, just focusing on the match by match process is working out really well for us. The bowling rhythm has been good.”

“Actually, this is an important game for us and we have had a discussion about it. But as I said, we take it match by match process,” he added.

Sasikanth put his weight behind ‘leader’ Vihari and said that the right-handed batter’s experience makes a lot of difference on the field.

“Well, I have been with him for almost 4-5 years now. He has been a brilliant leader and a great captain. He knows how and when to use my services. His experience makes a lot of difference on the field. For instance, during the clash against Tamil Nadu, we were nowhere in the game and to pull out a win like that really needs a lot of leadership skills. We are very fortunate to have him as the leader,” he said.

Delhi has seen a drastic dip in the temperature especially in the last few days. Talking about the weather conditions, Sasikanth said that the players are trying to acclimatise as quickly as possible but also added that the team is focusing on the game.

“We just came a couple of days back and it’s really cold. We are just trying to acclimatise. But that’s ok. That’s a part of the game and we won’t take that as the important thing. But yeah, we are trying to acclimatise as quickly as we can.”

The Andhra bowler is nearing his 100th First-class wicket. Asked if he had any special plans, Sasikanth replied, “I just don’t want to think about it and just want to perform. I would just go there and do what I have been doing in the past four matches.”

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