Times are changing so is Indian cricket. India are currently one of the powerhouse of fast bowling. The current fast bowlers are probably the best in the world but more importantly, the future also looks bright. The likes of Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prashid Krishna, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel are taking giant strides. 

In the last two IPL seasons, the exciting speedster Nagarkoti missed being part of the IPL as he was ruled out due to injury. Luckily this year the express fast bowler will finally be making his IPL debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Kamlesh Nagarkoti, in the 2018 U-19 World Cup, grabbed eyeballs as he impressed the likes of Ian Bishop and Tom Moody with his raw pace. The 20-year-old will be making his debut for KKR and sharing the new ball with none other than Pat Cummins.

Nagarkoti excited to play with Pat Cummins

Kolkata bought the Aussie speedster for whopping Rs.15.5 crores in the IPL auction by the two-time IPL champions. Nagarkoti is excited to play with Pat Cummins this year as he has always idolised the Australian. Kamlesh Nagarkoti recently stated that he wants to emulate Cummins, who himself came back from injury and became the No.1 Test fast bowler in the world.

Furthermore, the upcoming fast bowler recalled an interesting incident when his former coach U-19 India coach Rahul Dravid. Back in the days, Dravid had encouraged him to draw inspiration from Pat Cummins.

He recalled, “I remember I was playing TT one day when Dravid sir was passing by. He stopped for a while and said, “you look sad. I can understand what you are going through but try and take it positively”. Then he referred to Cummins’ absence from cricket for 3-4 years and said, “when he returned to cricket, he ensured he became the No. 1 bowler in the world”.

“He insisted that I should forget the past but must learn from the mistakes of the past to have a better future. One more thing I learned from him was not to ever feel that because I was injured, I would never be as good as before,” the Rajasthan pacer told the KKR’s official website.

“Of course, he had injuries for a long time. So, I would want to ask him what mindset he had had during those 3-4 years, how he kept himself motivated and how he prepared himself for the comeback,” Nagarkoti further added.

Meanwhile, Pat Cummins will be joining the KKR side in the UAE after the conclusion of the ODI and T20I series against England. The Knight Riders are currently in Abu Dhabi preparing for the upcoming IPL season that will kick off from September 19.