Krishnappa Gowtham reveals the message he got when he was traded from RR to KXIP

Krishnappa Gowtham made his debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2018, representing the Rajasthan Royals. Then he impressed with his ability to smack the leather in the death overs. Moreover, he also showed how he could also be an effective prospect with his off-breaks. However, for some reason, the Royals didn’t persist with him after a couple of seasons.

Ahead of the auction for the 2020 IPL Gowtham was traded to the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). In 2018, the Royals shelled out a staggering INR 6.2 crores for the Karnataka all-rounder from his base price of INR 20 lakhs. When asked about the reasons behind his trade to the Punjab franchise, Gowtham said he was explained the reasons behind it and they were pretty convincing.

It was pretty convincing: Krishnappa Gowtham

“Yeah, Rajasthan spoke to me and they explained the reason for the trade which was valid, I guess. It was fair enough for the both of us. We both were on the same page and it was a good thing that they communicated with me and told me things that would be best for my career and for the franchise. It was pretty convincing,” Gowtham told host Adarsh Raman on Insta live with CricTracker.

In 22 matches for the Royals, Gowtham notched 144 runs in 22 matches at a strike-rate of 173.49. He also picked up 12 wickets and did a reasonable job as he had to roll his arms over in the powerplay, which wasn’t a cakewalk by any means. Overall, in the T20 format, the 31-year-old has 521 runs with a couple of half-centuries to go with 36 wickets at an economy of 7.60.

In the previous edition of the Karnataka Premier League (KPL), he took apart a number of records. While playing for the Bellari Tuskers in the match against Shivamogga Lions, he smashed an unbeaten 134 off 56 balls, also the fastest century in the history of the KPL.

Then with the ball in hand, he picked up eight wickets, conceding only 15 runs in his four overs. The performance helped his team win the match, comfortably, by 70 runs. He last played for Karnataka in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy. As far as the IPL goes, he was also a part of Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2017, though he ended up warming the benches there.