KOCHI: Rohan Kunnummal, Kerala's fast-blossoming batting talent, has made scoring hundreds a habit. No wonder opportunities have come thick and fast for this youngster from Koyilandy, Kozhikode.
Last year, he became the first Kerala batter to score three successive hundreds in Ranji Trophy. He was rewarded for those performances with a call-up to the South Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy in September. He answered that call with scores of 143 and 77 in the semifinal against North Zone and followed it up with 31 and 93 against West Zone in the final. In the ongoing Vijay Hazare one-day tournament in Bengaluru, Rohan smashed two centuries against Goa and Bihar.
Rohan's consistent run in the domestic circuit has now earned him a place in the India 'A' squad that will take on Bangladesh 'A' in two four-day matches starting next week. "It's a great opportunity and challenge. I always look to improve my performance. I am also eager to learn from fellow my players in the team," the 24-year-old tells TOI about the goals he has set for the tour as he gets an opportunity rub shoulders with the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara in the team.
Cricket came naturally to Rohan as his dad Sushil Kumar was a former off-spinner and represented Kerala Agricultural University. He asked his son to pursue the game from a young age. Sushil was Rohan's first throwdown specialist in the backyard of his house in Koyilandy and taught him the nuances of the game before he joined the Sussex Academy in Kozhikode. He made the Kerala U-14 team when he was 11 and graduated through the ranks in age-group cricket before making a mark in Cooch Behar Trophy with an unbeaten 253 against Delhi, a season that also saw him become the highest run-getter for Kerala.
He soon earned an India U-19 call-up but couldn't make an impact against the touring England U-19 side and was overlooked for India's U-19 World Cup campaign.
Though he made his Ranji Trophy debut during the fag end of the 2019-20 season, he got injured in that game against Rajasthan after making just 8 in the first innings. And then Covid happened. "That break helped me. I worked hard on my fitness with Vysakh Krishna, who is now the fitness trainer of the Kerala cricket team. We did a lot of strength and conditioning exercises. When I resumed cricket after Covid lockdown, I was a lot fitter and I think it helped my game immensely," feels Rohan as it reflected in his phenomenal run-in domestic cricket.
"I never believed that I could score three consecutive centuries but once I was able to achieve that I became more confident. I analyze my game a lot as I believe there is always scope for improvement."
With his ability to score at a fair clip in all formats and a strike rate of over 100 in both T20 and List A cricket, IPL franchises would be eyeing Rohan at the auctions to be held in Kochi next month. But the lad has set bigger goals for himself. "My job is to go out there and perform. If somebody buys me at the auction, I would be happy as I would be able to showcase my skills on a bigger platform. But my dream is to play for the country and be a part of India's World Cup-winning team. And I will keep working towards that," the youngster signs off sharing his dream.
