V. Koushik is a late bloomer. He once had a corporate job and made his First-Class debut only at 27, against Tamil Nadu in December 2019. And after that, he played just eight red-ball matches until the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy opener Punjab that began here on Friday. With a career-best seven-wicket haul (7/41), he is seemingly making up for lost time.
This process had in fact started last season when he played five Ranji Trophy matches and picked up 24 wickets. In the last two Vijay Hazare Trophy campaigns, he has claimed 18 wickets each, and he had a match-haul of five wickets in the Duleep Trophy final that South Zone won in July 2023.
“I am very happy with my performance,” Koushik said on Friday. “I bowled well last year and was just hoping to have a good start this time. The rhythm was good and we had a good preparatory camp and everything came together.”
