Follow UsSuccess doesn’t come overnight, certainly not in KL Shrjith’s case.
It took 28 years for KL Shrijith to finally overcome all his hurdles and make his first-class debut for Karnataka.
“The reason was simple: there were so many senior players in the squad, and all were batters. It wasn’t easy to overtake them and become a regular in just one or two seasons,” Shrijith told Cricket.com in an exclusive chat.
However, the funny thing is that Shrijith was busy training himself for the domestic T20 tournament [Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy] in the lead-up to his call-up. But one phone call from the selector changed everything for the 28-year-old.
“I got a call from the selectors that I was in the Ranji Trophy setup, and I wasn’t prepared for it,” he recalled.
But if you watched him in his first-class debut game, you’d use any phrase other than ‘unprepared’. On a seaming surface in Lucknow, the left-hander walked out to bat in the second over of the innings, with Karnataka reeling at 5/2.
When every other Karnataka batter, including Mayank Agarwal and Manish Pandey, were back in the dressing room, Shrijith did what he’s known best in the Karnataka cricketing circles – put the pressure back on the opposition.
The left-hander smashed a sizzling century on debut, scoring 110 runs off just 153 balls, on a surface where the rest of the 19 batters combined to score just 254 runs in the first innings.
“I just went out there and tried to enjoy my batting out there in the middle, like I have done over the last two to three years. And that's what paid off. I didn't try to do anything extra or new, as I wasn’t expecting the call-up. I just wanted to go there and be positive from the first ball,” he opens up about that clash.
So, how does someone training for white-ball cricket a week ago adapt to the changing demands of the red-ball format?
“To be honest, more than technical, it's the mindset,” he talked about the change.
“Sometimes in white-ball, you face the same situation multiple times. But in red-ball cricket, there are a lot of variables. My mindset wasn’t to do anything fancy, like get the run-rate up. I just want to play the ball to its merit first, especially in the red ball format when I went out to bat.”
While he’s only played 31 games across formats for the state, it's almost confirmed that he’s the first-choice all-format wicketkeeper for Karnataka. Does that come with additional responsibilities? Not that Shrijith thinks.
“I want to keep representing Karnataka across the three formats. I know it is not something that I get to decide, though. But I understand my roles and responsibilities now across the three formats. So I try to align my abilities with the team’s responsibilities before any season.”
There’s a good chance that you identify Shrjith because of his Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024/25 season. The left-hander made the headlines, across the state and even was trending on X for his swashbuckling 150* against the defending champions, Mumbai.
Hitting an unbeaten 150 is one thing, hitting it when the stakes are at an all-time high is another; that’s what Shrijith did during his stay, as Karnataka were chasing a daunting 383 in their opening clash. However, in Shrjith’s mind, the confidence superseded the stakes.
“We were always confident that we could chase 383 down with our batting unit,” he said when asked about the run chase.
“But what usually happens in such a high chase is that you play a lot of risky shots up front and lose a lot of wickets. We didn’t try to push the game too much up front, as we always knew that we could chase it down instead of pushing for a 40-over run chase.”
While this innings certainly grabbed the attention of several scouts who were present in Ahmedabad, it was his innings in the final that all but sealed his opportunity at the Indian Premier League (IPL) level. Karnataka were all over the place, at 67/3, when Mayank departed, as Vidarbha seemed in total control.
In that clash, he walked out and casually stitched up a 160-run partnership with his long-time friend, Smaran R, smashing a 74-ball 78, with nine fours and one six. When he walked back, Karnataka were in a far comfortable position, at 227/4, as they ended up with 348/6 in the final and won by 36 runs.
“Smaran [R] and I have been playing together for the last four years - from club matches to state games. I enjoy batting with him; it is always about good communication, and we don’t try to overdo things. He plays to his strengths and I play to mine, which works well for the team,” he recalled the talk between the two.
The entire competition was about Shrjith stepping up his game, and how he did, swooping in to make Karnataka’s wicketkeeping job his own. But it wouldn’t have been possible without him adding more shots to his batting arsenal, which allowed pressure to be shifted back at the opposition.
“In this day and age, having a wide range of shots is very critical in any format. You have to try and score runs, whatever the way may be, and you can’t play out a bowler or play out a session like before,” Shrijith talks about his fascination with sweeps and reverse sweeps.
“Because once you start sweeping and reverse sweeping, he has to change his line and length, which makes it easy to dictate the play. For that alone, it is very crucial.”
Ironically, the scouts who were present during that clash against Mumbai and were impressed were Vinay Kumar and Rahul Sanghvi, who were scouting for the Mumbai Indians, a franchise his dad always wanted him to play for.
“He’s [Shrijith’s dad] always been a big supporter of Sachin sir, who is not. Because of Sachin sir, he supported the Mumbai Indians throughout the IPL. He always used to tell me, ‘You need to end up playing for MI’ because of Sachin sir,” he recalls with a lot of emotion on his face.
It wasn’t the first time either, as MI and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have had multiple trials with the left-hander. But this time, it changed as the franchise trusted the 28-year-old as one of their wicketkeeping options, with an INR 30 lakh bid.
All he could think about was his dad.
“It [MI experience] was surreal for me, like the first session with the whole team; it was a little overwhelming to see all the stars, to be honest. The goal over the last few years has always been to play in the IPL and for a team like the Mumbai Indians, but for it to happen now, I wish my dad was here to relish this,” he said.
In the 2025 edition, even when there was an opportunity around the corner, Shrjith did not get his time under the sun for the five-time IPL winners. Despite that, the 28-year-old reckoned that the stint was a ‘major boost’ for his career.
“Playing this domestic season was a big stepping stone to the IPL and everything higher.
He [Kieron Pollard] was amazing, and honestly, he never tried to change my technique. When I walked into that dressing room, I thought they would be looking at my technique and advising me to change for the better,” the Karnataka glovesman stated.
“They have so much more experience in this format, and playing international cricket for a long time. He [Pollard] told me to ‘Stick to your game and have a set mindset.’ The whole game is played around how strong your mind is; that is more important than technique.
“He always told me, ‘Just stick to your way of getting runs, and don’t try anything silly’. There were a lot of people around me who were hitting sixes everywhere. My game doesn’t rely on sixes alone; I play a lot of singles and doubles, and he asked me not to change at all. That gave me a lot of confidence because I started believing in my abilities more than trying to emulate someone else,” he added on Pollard’s influence.
The 28-year-old will now walk into the Hubli Tigers as someone who is ‘stronger and wiser’ after his stint with the five-time IPL winners. But this respect between Shrijith and Tigers is a two-way street, as the franchise’s trust went a long way in shaping the youngster’s growth.
“Glad that Hubli Tigers have retained me for this season as well. I’ve worked with the management, Yere Goud, sir, is our senior team coach, and VK [Vinay Kumar] has been part of the system as a player and a coach now,” Shrjith spoke about the Tigers’ management.
“They have played a huge role in my getting to the Mumbai Indians. I climbed up the cricketing ladder two years ago with the same franchise. They still believe in me to win the championship.”
In a major blow for the Tigers, they will be without their successful captain Manish Pandey, who will now don the Mysore Warriors’ yellow. With a budget of INR 38.5 lakhs heading into the auction, there were concerns over how the Tigers would recalibrate themselves.
But the franchise put themselves back in Championship contention, shelling INR 25.40 lakhs on the experienced campaigners – Abhinav Manohar and Devdutt Padikkal – a move that could propel them to another title.
“I was quite surprised when we got both [Manohar and Padikkal] on our team because of the budget we had. I’ve played a lot of cricket with both of them. I’m looking forward to the season, as it will be exciting to play cricket with them apart from playing for Karnataka,” he stated.
Shrijith, all his life, has been the ultimate opportunist, even if he had to bide a long time before making his red-ball debut for the state. But now that he’s seen and done it all, his goal remains firm: following the footsteps of another KL, Rahul.
“My ultimate goal is to play and do well for the country. I would love to follow in KL Rahul's footsteps because I've always looked up to him as a batter and person, and I hope my career heads in that direction.”
Shrijith has all the tools for great success—an agile wicketkeeper, a powerful left-handed batter— and is a rare commodity in Indian domestic cricket. If he takes all the opportunities that come his way, the 28-year-old might become his dad’s favourite cricketer.