Bengaluru: There is something gratifying about watching left-handers bat. And it was so watching rookie Manvanth Kumar put on a show of batsmanship that was as much about style as it was about substance.
In a Ranji Trophy fixture in which more was at stake than just the bragging rights for Karnataka, Manvanth’s promise was the sole consolation as the Mysuru lad compiled a glorious hundred against nemesis Saurashtra in Alur.
There has always been a bit of chatter about Manvanth in the Karnataka cricket circles. Only two games into the Ranji season, and just two first-class games old, the 22-year-old has turned that chatter into voices of potential.
More than a decade after picking up a cricket ball thanks to his brother, Manvanth, part of the C K Nayudu Trophy-winning team under Yere Goud in 2024, continued to mature as a promising all-rounder. This time, in front of his senior head coach Vinay Kumar’s eyes.
“He is (Manvanth) one of the players in the current crop who can make it big. He can play for India. The more he plays, the more he’ll get better. He can bowl 135kph plus as well. We don’t have many good bowling all-rounders in India. I think Manvanth can get there,” Vinay said after the game.
The southpaw walked into bat with Karnataka in all sorts of trouble at 187/7 in 50 overs, and walked back with his side at 340/9, having guided a sinking ship to relative safety. Improvisation, elegance and timing. His (135, 211b, 4×11, 6×6) knock had it all.
Manvanth, who shifted to Bengaluru two years ago having discontinued his studies, also understands the importance of playing for the badge in front of the jersey.
“I don’t think about my personal milestone when I bat. I always think about my team.”
And there’s a smile on his face when the conversation shifts to Yere.
“Yere sir (Goud)… en gothilla, (don’t know why he) trusted me from the very beginning. He believed in my abilities and backed me with both bat and ball,” Manvanth said.
A former BMTC bus driver, now taking care of a travel business in Mysuru, Manvanth’s father must be a proud man of the way he talks about life.
“I never wanted to stay in my comfort zone. I always wanted to come to Bengaluru to build a career. I joined Swastic, and I trained daily. I stayed here in a dormitory during league (KSCA) games,” he added.
With the ability to strike from ball one, just like his favourite Ben Stokes, Manvanth goes about his business without an iota of doubt in his mind.
“I just treated the red-ball as white.. Simple,” he laughs, talking of the six he smashed, dancing down the track, off Jaydev Unadkat.
For a bowling all-rounder, Manvanth’s batting technique is sound. He stays side on in his stance, aligns his body, head and the bat in line with the ball, and meets it with the full face, helping him negate any movement. However, it is the role clarity that has helped him regain his lost batting confidence.
“I was very much low on confidence. I went back to the basics and worked really hard on it. Vinay (sir) gave me the freedom to play my natural game. He had observed my approach in Dr (Capt) K Thimmappiah and advised me to not differentiate between the red ball and the white.”
After playing age-group cricket in the Mysore zone and featuring in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali for Karnataka, Manvanth will now travel to Mysuru to play his first red-ball home game for the senior side next week.