KOCHI: Akshay Kodoth swears by the autobiographies of Usain Bolt and Steve Waugh — one the fastest athlete in the world and the other the grittiest cricketer anyone could hope to find. As contrasting as the two legends’ characters are, they had one trait common that drove them towards sporting immortality — the desire to excel.
As a new season beckons, wicketkeeper-batsman is all keyed up to turn a leaf from their book.
“Last season, my target was to be the batsman who faced the most balls for my team. I managed to do that. And this season, if I get a chance in Ranji Trophy, I want to be the batsman who plays the most balls,” says Akshay, echoing a bit of Waugh’s determination.
Whether or not he does it for the senior team, only time will tell. But having amassed 451 runs in six matches with a hundred and three half-centuries while leading the Kerala under-23 team to the C K Nayudu Trophy elite group semifinals last year, the 23-year old’s confidence is high enough for him to dream big.
“I want to move up to the next level,” he says of his desire to make it to one of the national sides — either the emerging players’ team or the India ‘A’ team. Then, there is the Indian Premier League.
And he knows exactly what is required to get there. “I need to be consistent with my performances,” he says.
Akshay had made his senior team debut five years ago even before he had turned 18, in List A cricket.
The first class debut happened the following year, and the stylish right-hander promised a lot with a composed performance both in front and behind the stumps on a difficult wicket at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi, helping Kerala to a thrilling two-run win over Andhra in only his second Ranji Trophy match.
But the script changed dramatically over the course of the next eight matches that the young man was left with the age-group sides before his stellar showing in the under-23 championship earned a recall for the penultimate game last season, after a gap of nearly three years.
In the meantime, though, he has picked up valuable tips from former India players, like Chandrakant Pandit, Sujith Somasundar and Sairaj Bahutule who have been on Kerala’s coaching staff over the past three seasons.
Yet, he asserts, the biggest inputs have come From his under-23 team coach P Balachandran, who has been given the job of the senior team this season.
“Balachandran sir has been a big influence in my development. He is like a personal coach to me,” he points out.
Born in Kollam but brought up in Bangalore, after his father was transferred there when little Akshay was still in pre-school, he first played for Kerala in the under-17 category. His initiation to cricket wasn’t bad either, having joined the Roger Binny Cricket Academy as a 10-year old.
In the midst of his B Com exams now, he has played a few matches together with the likes of K L Rahul, Manish Pandey and Karun Nair for Jain College.
“It is a nice experience to play with such players, but I always wanted to play for Kerala. Now it is my dream to see Kerala beat the big teams like Karnataka consistently,” he signs off.