Maharaja Trophy: from ball boy to player-of-the-match, LR Chethan is making every opportunity count

Maharaja Trophy: KSCA T20 kicked off, LR Chethan decided to crank up the style, playing with panache, ensuring the Bengaluru Blasters were off to a rollicking start against the Shivamogga Strikers in the Bengaluru phase. Riding Chethan’s brilliance, the home team asked the opposition to chase down a massive 192.    

It was Chethan’s blistering knock of 105 from 55 deliveries, studded with 6 sixes and 8 boundaries that enthralled the  evening audience. For Chethan, it was a surreal experience to score big and announce his arrival in the domestic scene.

“This is my first year playing the first division matches. I had the opportunity of playing KSCA T20 too, which was held just before the Maharaja Trophy and after my performance there, I was named in the ‘C’ category of players for the Maharaja Trophy player draft,” explained Chethan, who hails from Mysore.  

A BBA student from the Maharaja College, he began playing cricket when during his first-year pre-university in KR Nagar Taluk, about 45 minutes from Mysore. During the erstwhile Karnataka Premier League in 2017, 2018 and 2019, Chethan found himself at the boundary lines, as a ball-boy, and was left in awe by the performances of home-grown stalwarts like Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey and Karun Nair.

“For almost three seasons, I worked as a ball boy during the KPL matches and I absolutely loved watching the players from such close quarters. Luckily, I always had the support of my parents who allowed me to hone my skills in cricket. In 2019, I got to play for Mysuru Warriors as a catchment area player,” he said.  

Cut to 2022, Chethan and captain Mayank are walking out to open the innings at the iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in the colours of the Bengaluru Blasters, with only one thing on their minds – decimate the opposition bowling attack.  

Chethan feels there is no dearth of motivation for a newcomer like him.

“Mayank has been quite a remarkable captain. It was him and Naz sir (Nasiruddhin) and KB Pawan who have been motivating me to play my natural game and not worrying much about any outside pressure. Although for a new comer like me, I was a bit nervous in the first few matches because this was going to be on TV and there were a lot of people turning up to watch the matches too,” Chethan said after becoming only the third batter to score a hundred in the Maharaja Trophy.  

Chethan says, it was his captain’s big knock of 102 off 49 balls that showed him the way. “Mayank’s innings was brilliant and then before that Rohan Patil also scored a 100 and he is actually my contemporary so I thought if they can do it, even I can.” 

When asked about his future plans in cricket, he said,

“I came into the sport a little late. I was already 16-17 years old when I started playing in second division. I now play under Irfan Sait and represent Cambridge in first division. I really want to play for Karnataka, that is my first target. The Maharaja Trophy is a very big platform for a player like me and I really want to make use of this.” 

With his brutal assault setting up the win for the Blasters, Chethan finished the night with the Player of the match against the Shivamogga Strikers.  

About Maharaja Trophy:       

The marquee Twenty20 cricket tournament will be organised in the memory of the HRH late Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, the former President of KSCA and Maharaja of Mysore. The Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 commenced on 7th August in Mysore with the first leg of matches being held at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Ground in Mysore. A total of 18 matches will be held in Mysore followed by a total of 16 matches including the final being held in Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.     

The Shriram Group are the title sponsor for the marquee Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20. They come on board as title sponsors for a period of 3 years, commencing this season.    

The two-week T20 extravaganza will be telecast live on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports Kannada. It will also be streamed live on the Fancode app for larger consumption.