"At that point, I was idolizing Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina" - How Karnataka's sensation KL Shrijith turned from a right-hander to a left-hander

Karnataka batter KL Shrijith has made quite a name for himself through impressive performances in the recently concluded Maharaja T20 Trophy 2023. While the state seem to have an elegant left-hander in their ranks, not many would have known that Shrijith was initially a right-hander.

We have heard examples of the likes of Sourav Ganguly, who turned into a left-hander to use the gears of his sibling, Shrijith simply realized while playing that he could bat both right-handed and left-handed.

Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, KL Shrijith explained how he realized that by batting left-handed, he could score runs more freely. He also opened up on his inspirations as a budding cricketer and said:

"That’s a funny story actually that I could bat both right-handed and left-handed. Initially when I used to play cricket, I didn’t make a lot of runs with batting right-handed. So instead I just switched to batting left-handed and then scored 40-50 runs so I just stuck to it. Obviously at that point I was idolizing Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina. I was glad that I continued as a left-handed batter and glad that it worked."

Another 'KL' from Karnataka who is a stylish batter is KL Rahul and has gone on to achieve great things in his career so far. Shrijith naturally believes that there's a lot to learn for him from Rahul and added:

"Yeah I have seen him practice a couple of times and have also spoken to him from a couple of times. One thing that I would like to pick from him is the edge, fitting into any team as a keeper and as a batter. He is a good fielder as well and even I would like to replicate that. He is very clear and I would also like to be that clear in my thought process with respect to wherever I am batting in the batting order. That’s something I want to look up to and replicate here in the domestic season."

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KL Shrijith on excellent Maharaja T20 Trophy 2023

KL Shrijith had an incredible breakout tournament in the Maharaja T20 Trophy 2023, where he scored 393 runs in just 11 games at a strike rate of 141.87 with four half-centuries to his name.

Having not been around the Karnataka domestic setup for a while after making his Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) debut way back in 2021, KL Shrijith believes it was the time away from the game that gave him clarity on what he wanted to focus on and achieve to make a successful comeback.

On this he stated:

"I had that clarity about how I want to play my game. I didn’t let any situation in the game get into my head. I was just focusing on my strengths and I figured out during the course of the season that running between the wickets was my strength. I wanted to focus on rostering the strike and when needed get the odd boundary or the power-hit. In the off-season I worked in the gym on my strength training as well as running and in the end that kind of paid off."

KL Shrijith particularly seemed to have shared a great camaraderie with Hubli Tigers captain Manish Pandey. The veteran Indian batter has been an inspiration to others in the team according to Shrijith. On this, he added:

"It’s really great to see him (Manish Pandey) on the field because he is really energetic and always gives the hundred percent and sets the tone for the team to follow. For anyone in the team, watching him portray himself on the field, you obviously get inspiration to do well. That certainly was what happened with our team as he set the standards and we tried to follow it and keep up with him."

Manish Pandey's Hubli Tigers won the Maharaja T20 Trophy 2023 in a sensational final and KL Shrijith's performances in that tournament helped him get a call-up to Karnataka's SMAT 2023 squad.