Tanush Kotian looks to bounce back this season

He could not sleep well after returning from the Under-19 Asia Cup tournament last year because he only managed to take one wicket in two games in Malaysia. Adding up to his misery was another dissatisfying performance in the U-19 Challenger’s Trophy prior to the U-19 World Cup, where he could not pocket many wickets. Soon, Mumbai’s 19-year-old all-rounder, Tanush Kotian came close to realising that he will miss the plane that leaves for New Zealand and his dreams will take longer to turn into reality.

“Bura toh laga thha. But it was my performance that was not good enough,” he says, recalling his journey with the Rahul Dravid coached team that went on to lift the World Cup later.

Tanush returned home to his father, who had taught him how to hold the bat and bowl from his experiences with tennis-ball cricket to overcome the mistakes and build on the experiences with Paras Mhambrey and Dravid.  “I was there with Paras sir and Rahul sir for a long time (under-19 training camp). They taught me a lot of things and now I am using them,” says the off-spinner. “Batsman ko read karne ka thoda idea hai toh karta hoon.”

His cricketing endeavours began when he started watching his father Karunakar Kotian, who is also an umpire for Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), play. His old man has played A Division cricket with Shantibai Seth Memorial CC. “I don’t remember much but he played with big names as well,” says Tanush, who learned on the sidelines along with videos on YouTube.

He then went onto represent Mumbai on various levels, in the  U-14 and the U-19 with various performances with the bat and the ball. Till class seven, he was in St Joseph’s school and then moved to VN Sule to take up cricket with more seriousness. His performance at Vinoo Mankad Trophy where he grabbed nine wickets and notched 120 runs with the bat earned him a call-up for the national U-19 camp but we know how that story ended. “I wasn’t disappointed, but I thought that there is a lot of time left in my career. I can do better and play for India in the future,” he says.

In the recently concluded inaugural season of the Mumbai T20 League, he was one of the youngest players to make it to the starting eleven of a team. In a bid of '1 lakh, he was sold to Shivaji Park Lions where he maintained a fine economy rate of 7.57 runs per over. The other day, he conceded a six while bowling to Shreyas Iyer but did not allow the right-hander to do it again. “What I have learned from my coaches is to not make the same mistake again and find the weak point of a batsman. I figured out where Shreyas was not strong and capitalised on it,” he says. “Ab agle season double performance dena hai,” he says. With his eyes set on a Ranji Trophy debut in the coming season, he wants to make amends and touch greater heights.