IPL 2020: Team-man Rahul Tripathi relishing opener's role at KKR

In the ongoing edition of Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders' Rahul Tripathi has grabbed the eyeballs with his batting despite the limited number of opportunities he has got and also despite the presence of "bigger" players in the side like Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, and even the struggling opener Sunil Narine.

For the 29-year-old from Pune, Maharashtra, coming out to bat in the lower middle order in the match against Delhi Capitals (which KKR lost eventually by 18 runs) in Sharjah on October 3 was nothing new. He had done the same in domestic cricket. A proper middle or top order batsman, Tripathi found himself being sent lower down the order out of sheer necessity, with tailenders for company. On Wednesday, however, against the Chennai Super Kings, he was swapped with the out-of-form Narine and sent to open by skipper Dinesh Karthik and coach Brendon McCullum. He scored a well-paced 81 off 51 balls, hitting eight fours and three sixes, anchoring the innings and falling in the 17th over. KKR went on to win the match despite scoring a sub-par total of 167 against the M.S. Dhoni-led CSK.

Tripathi is happy with his new role as an opener but is game for whatever the team wants from him. “I have prepared myself in such a way that I can bat at any position wherever the team requires. So, it is not bothering me anymore. For the past two seasons, I have been batting in the middle order, but now I am comfortable with both positions. Whatever I the team requires from me, I am ready to do."

The trials of first-class cricket and his three-year experience in IPL have not only taught the soft-spoken Tripathi to cope with the challenges but also persevere and prevail. His IPL career kickstarted with Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017, which was led by Dhoni then. He was the second last pick in the IPL auction for unsold players, and was brought to the notice of RPSG by veteran cricket journalist and Pune resident Sunandan Lele. Tripathi played 14 matches that season, scoring 391 runs, including a highest score of 93. He had a strike rate of 146.4. He then moved to Rajasthan Royals in 2018. After two years there and warming the benches, he moved to KKR in 2020 and it's a move he is certainly happy with.

Son of an Army officer, he took to playing cricket seriously when his father got posted to Pune after a stint in Srinagar. There, he honed his skills under the watchful eyes of Kedar Joglekar and Hemant Athalye at the famous Deccan Gymkhana. Having shown that his game was more than slam-bang, and that he has the temperament to shoulder whatever responsibility is handed to him, Tripathi hopes to take the next big step in his nearly decade-long domestic career.

"Yes, I got this opportunity in IPL from RPSG and playing with RR also was special for me because I was playing in the middle order. I had a few good innings for them. Coming to KKR also was very special. I have been doing well in IPL and in domestic cricket, too, though this year has not been great. But last three years have been good for me. So, I am looking forward to becoming more consistent, and a regular match-winner. If I can keep repeating the performances, and if national selectors feel I can be a match-winner, I can get the opportunities," he said.

For now, though, it's time to focus on the next match against Kings XI Punjab on October 10 in Abu Dhabi. The opening slot in KKR appears to be his for now. Consistency, no doubt, will be the key for Tripathi to ensure his performances do not go unnoticed.