CHENNAI: FOR Hyderabad player Kodimela Himateja, a Saturday evening with friends turned into a watershed moment. From making headlines as the first Hyderabad team cricketer from Adilabad, Himateja couldn't contain his excitement once he got the news of his selection in the South Zone team for the Duleep Trophy. The six-team red-ball tournament will begin at the BCCI's CoE later this month. "I was actually with my friends in the evening. There was a padel event going on in Hyderabad. Then, I suddenly got a call from the selector telling me that I am in the team. I was really happy. I told all of my friends and my family. I know it is not easy to get into the South Zone team because the zone has really big stars from everywhere around (the south)," he told this daily.
And now, he gets to be amongst the best from the South, led by India batter and Hyderabad teammate Tilak Varma. "Tilak is an amazing guy to have conversations with. Because he has a lot of clarity about everything. He is one step ahead of everyone," he said.
Coming into the 2025-26 season, Himateja was mindful that being the first cricketer from Adilabad to represent Hyderabad won't be enough. But things had not gone as per plan as he toiled at the start of the Ranji Trophy campaign.
"In the first 4-5 matches, I scored only around 230-odd runs. I felt I was missing a bit of clarity. I got good starts but failed to convert them into big totals. I felt a bit low when I didn't get runs in the beginning because I was a very good red-ball player. So I thought I should do something about it," he explained.
Then, conversations with childhood coach Jayendra Pataskar, and coaches Anirudh Singh and Inder Shekhar Reddy from NextGen cricket academy helped him bring 'clarity.' "I changed my practice a bit. I worked on a few things and that helped me a lot," he said. His willingness to go the extra mile started showing signs of promise. He felt things changed during the team's group tie against 42-time champions Mumbai, when he scored 40 and 43 in the two innings. However, in terms of numbers, Himateja was still lagging as he had just one half-century in his name until the final league match. That changed. Himateja went on to score a memorable ton (171) against Chhattisgarh and helped Hyderabad to a big first innings lead. While that did not mean anything for Hyderabad and their quarterfinal hopes that season, that match helped him regain his touch. "In the last three innings I got some 250 runs. So that was very big for me. One more thing that I got was my role clarity in the team. I knew what I had to do. To know what you have to do and to have the clarity to do it and prepare in that way also was a very big plus," he explained.
He ended with 485 runs that season, the second-highest in the team. But the 24-year-old batter was aware that still had a long way to go. This season, Himateja wants to score as many runs as he can in the Ranji Trophy.
The BCCI's emerging men's multi-day tournament, which was held last month, was an ideal platform for him to prepare for the Duleep Trophy. The four-team tournament is part of the body's hunt for Test prospects. Coached by former India pacer Debashish Mohanty, Himateja captained Team D then, an experience he felt helped him. "I really like captaining a side. Because it adds more responsibility to me. When I am given more responsibility, I think I actually play better. And responsibility, I don't consider it a pressure. So responsibility and understanding the situation. I mean, you are more involved as a captain. So you understand situations better. So I think that always helps me to play better,” he said
Himateja as T20 batter
The southpaw may have just presented a strong case for himself by his performances in the TG20. Representing the finalists Anvita Khammam Aces, He finished 3rd in the runscorers' list with 462 runs laced with four fifties and a ton in eight matches, averaging a mammoth 92.40 and striking at 180.47. He explained the things that worked for him. "First thing, understanding the situation is very important. I know what I am capable of. When required, I would accelerate right from the beginning. Sometimes when I feel the team needs me there, I try to hang around a bit and rotate. In the end, I can cover up everything," he said.
Mentally, Himateja prepares himself to "dominate" and not be intimidated if wickets fall on the other side. "I always wanted to dominate in any situation. Even if the wickets fall, I didn't want to show any hesitation. If the ball was there, I would hit it. So that clarity has helped me a lot.
"Skill-wise, if I talk about it, I am good with the short ball.I am good with the slot ball. I can score runs all around the ground. Not only leg-side or off-side. I can score on both sides. So that was actually a very good plus for me. I felt bowlers were not able to understand where to bowl exactly," he signed off.