Wicket-keeper batsman from Vizag makes his debut in IPL for RCB

K Srikar Bharat, a wicket-keeper batsman from Vizag, who is currently playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL, made his debut on Monday. He played against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. 

As the IPL 2021 resumed, Srikar Bharat, in his first-ever innings, scored 16 runs off 19 balls. His knocks include a boundary. He also donned the gloves for RCB in the second innings. 

Srikar Bharat made his T20 debut in the year 2013 for Andhra Pradesh. He first played against Tamil Nadu at the Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Limited Ground in Bhadravati, Karnataka. Over the years he has amassed 730 runs in 44 innings at a strike rate of 106.10 in the T20 format. 

The 26-year-old rose to fame when he became the first wicket-keeper batsman to score a triple hundred in Ranji Trophy while representing Andhra Pradesh in 2015. He made rapid strides both as a keeper and batsman at the domestic level when he scored 758 runs with a healthy average of 54.14. K Srikar Bharat was eventually roped in by the IPL team, Delhi Daredevils, at his base price of Rs. 10 lakh. 

Prior to this Vizag batsman making his debut in IPL, in 2020, when India took on Bangladesh in its maiden Day/night test at Kolkata, Bharat was drafted into the squad as a backup for the regular wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha. Before that, he played for India Blue in the 2018-19 Duleep Trophy. Bharat has scored 9 centuries in his first-class career so far and 3 list-A hundreds.

It could be noted that Srikar Bharat was initially left unsold during the first round of the IPL 2020 Auction. With his impressive and consistent performances in domestic cricket, he entered the auction with a minimum base price of Rs.20 lakh.