19 Facts about Shivil Kaushik – An off-shoot of Paul Adams

When the Gujarat Lions skipper Suresh Raina said the team has brought in Shivil Kaushik in place of Pravin Tambe for the game against Rising Pune Supergiants, a lot of people wondered who the rookie was. Shivil Kaushik is not a very celebrated name in the Indian domestic circuit. But the young man has a lot of potential to excel at the greatest level. Here are some interesting facts about Shivil Kaushik:

1. Born on:

Shivil Kaushik was born on 9 July 1995 and hails from Gurdaspur, Punjab. His family moved to Bangalore 15 years ago.

2. Bowling style:

He is a left-arm mystery spinner who can turn the bowl in either direction with precision and guile.

3. Cricket not the only game:

Apart from cricket, a young Shivil used to play basketball and hockey at school.

4. Education:

Based in Richmond Town, he attended his schooling at the Cathedral School. He is currently pursuing B.Com at the St. Joseph’s College of Commerce in Bangalore.

5. Start to cricket career:

At the age of 9, he joined the cricket academy at National Aerospace Laboratories ground at Old Airport Road in Bengaluru. He was coached by the former Indian wicketkeeper, Sadanand Vishwanath.

6. The words from his mother:

Shivil Kaushik is a down to earth young man. As admitted by him, it was his mother who instilled the desire to follow the dreams. His mother is a school teacher.

7. The big dream:

He dreams of having the wicket of Indian skipper MS Dhoni. He often visualizes Dhoni caught in the slips off his bowling!

8.The Spin Stars Contest:

Anil Kumble conducted the Spin Stars Contest last year in Karnataka for the young bowlers in the age group of 10 to 19 years. Around 3000 people participated in the contest and Shivil was one of them. He was registrant no. AKSSONO126. He emerged as the winner of the contest and was awarded with one lakh rupees as the cash prize by former legend BS Chandrasekhar. He also attended a week long coaching from Anil Kumble.

9. Comparisons with Paul Adams:

Ever since Shivil caught the eyes of the professional coaches, he has been compared to the former South African spinner Paul Adams. His action is similar to that of Adams, and might well be called as an off-shoot action of Paul Adams.

10. Better than Adams?

While Paul Adams was largely inconsistent with his bowling, Shivil is renowned for his accuracy and consistency despite an awkward action. He is taller than Adams and has a faster one in his repertoire too, which Adams lacked.

11. Karnataka Premier League: The big break:

After having watched Shivil closely at practice, the coach of Hubli Tigers, Anutosh Poll, convinced his team management to go for the young bowler at the KPL auctions last year. He was bought by the Hubli Tigers for the KPL 2015.

12. Performances at KPL – Wicket of Stuart Binny:

It was his tally 5 wickets in the KPL, that was influential in taking his side to the finals of the KPL last year. The big fish was Stuart Binny, who he trapped first ball. Binny failed to read his action and this caught the attention of the IPL talent scouts.

13. The big opportunity:

Having won the Spin Stars Contest, Shivil Kaushik got an opportunity to attend the trial camps of Mumbai Indians, Rising Pune Supergiants, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Lions.

14. IPL Auctions:

The Gujarat Lions had done their homework and made their mind to pick up the young Chinaman. He was picked up by the Gujarat Lions in the auction of 2016 for his base price of 10 Lakhs. There were no other bids for him. When asked on how he would use the money, a humble Kaushik replied , “Money doesn’t matter, opportunity does.”

15. Unexpected drama at the auctions:

He had to check the websites to confirm his signing in the Indian Premier League auctions in 2016. He was closely following the auction on the television but was surprised to see somebody else’s photo on the screen being displayed along with his name. This created the confusion for the young man and he had to check the news to confirm his signing by the Gujarat Lions.

16. No domestic contract:

Surprisingly, Shivil Kaushik has no domestic contract to his name so far. He might get picked in the Karnataka side after the IPL, provided he performs well.

17. Heath Streak heaps praises:

The Gujarat Lions coach, Heath Streak, heaped praise on the young bowler even before he had made his IPL debut. He said, “Shivil is a very exciting young bowler. With his unusual action, he can spin it both ways.”

18. IPL debut:

He made his IPL debut and his T20 debut against the Rising Pune Supergiants at the MCA Stadium in Pune on April 29, 2016. He finished with figures of 0/32 of his 4 overs.

19. Which way will it turn?

As admitted by Shivil himself, even he doesn’t know which way the ball will turn. He is a back of the hand bowler and says any ball can turn anyway.