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Roadster, wildster, speedster

Sreenath Arvind is loving playing with the big three of RCB — AB de Villiers, Gayle and Kohli

The cherry red gave this bowler an impetus in cricket and, since then Sreenath Arvind, RCB bowler and a part of the Ranji-winning Karnataka team, has only honed his talent. The bowler whose most recent four-wicket haul (alongside Mitchell Starc’s four wickets) against Kings XI Punjab helped his team further in the IPL, can also wield a camera with equal élan, so much so that the wildlife buff has been taking time to visit the hinterlands to explore, learning about the birds, and some bees, literally. “I love photography and it is something that I am very passionate about.

Taking shots of the big cats and going bird watching with my Cannon 5500 is a wonderful experience. I usually travel to Kabini, Bandipur and Dandeli to do my fair bit of photography. There are so many species of birds that one can see and their colours and calls will amaze you. Of course, watching their behavioural patterns is so interesting,” reveals Sreenath Arvind. This particular hobby of his has also taught him to be patient and watching the beaked wonders and their mannerisms is a lesson in behaviour too. Sreenath posts his best wildlife photos on his Facebook page and seems quite prolific in his exploits.

The outdoors is a place where most sportsmen feel at home, and Arvind is no different. “I love going on long drives and I have a Ford EcoSport that I hit the highway in,” says the Tamilian who lives in the Garden City with his parents.

The boy who had a strong 2010-11 domestic season; was the second-highest wicket-taker for Karnataka and also the second-highest wicket-taker for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy with 10 wickets and all this earned him a call-up to the Indian ODI side for the home series against England. Arvind now works with State Bank of Mysore, and owes his passion for cricket to his uncle K.B. Shrikant and Whirlwind Cricket Club. The KSCA Academy followed and his talent was recognised and honed by Sanath Kumar and R.X. Murali, and a slow journey to the Ranji and Indian nets followed before he joined RCB in 2009 and travelled to South Africa. In 2011, he was RCBs and the season’s highest wicket taker with 21 scalps.

As a sportsman, injury is that ugly side that raises its head and many players have seen the sun set on their game. Thankfully, for Sreenath, after a career threatening accident, it was two years of recuperation and physio and he was back to the game. And he has the wonders of T20 game, Gayle, AB and Kohli, whom he bowls to in the nets, to get used to the “out-of-the-park” phenomenon that is giving bowlers a heartache in the IPL, especially considering his own team put up a mammoth total of 235 against Mumbai Indians. “T20 is a batman’s game and the bowler has to really put his mind into his action, bowl in the right areas and try variations.

AB is called the 360 degree cricketer and I have been learning with him and Gayle and Kohli, especially AB as he is the most difficult to bowl to,” reveals the guy who loves his mother’s tomato gojju. In fact, one can find him at all the small local joints near his home, sipping some hot chai with some South Indian specials. Places like Vidhyarthi Bhavan, CTR and MTR are his favourites. About the camaraderie that the players share, he laughs, “Gayle is always upto something — he will tease Sarfaraz or Chahal and generally there is whole lot of fun and a whole lot of training.” About playing under the tutelage of Mitchell Starc, Arvind is thrilled, “He has so much experience and helps us get our basics right. My idol is Wasim Akram — I have followed his ethics and ideals. Zaheer Khan too, and now Starc,” says Arvind.

A lover of music, he loves rock music. Other sports also keep him busy. The guy who was a part of the Rajajinagar Colts and is still playing with Vultures Club, is a homebody. He plays badminton, chess and even some football and regards Muthu Kumar and Shravan the reason he is back to fitness, and especially mentions Evan Speechley who helped him get back to form after his career threatening shoulder accident that took place in Hyderabad five years ago.

( Source : dc )
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