COMEBACK TRAIL Away from spotlight, Nagarkoti chalks up the pace Bharath Ramaraj Share Tweet

Recovering from a back stress fracture, Nagarkoti has Pat Cummins's comeback trail as inspiration ©Getty

An 18-year-old tearaway, a breakout beginning, the world seemingly at his feet, a stress fracture in the back followed by years in the wilderness. If you pause the narrative here, you wouldn't know for sure whether we're talking about Pat Cummins or Kamlesh Nagarkoti. Sure, Cummins' starry start came in a Test match unlike Nagarkoti who got everyone excited with his pacey exploits the under-19 World Cup. But in the penultimate year of their respective teens, both Cummins and Nagarkoti looked primed for rather remarkable futures before suffering from injury setbacks. And while Cummins has since made a sensational comeback and is now ranked as the No.1 Test bowler in the world, Nagarkoti is in the final stages of his recuperation and rapidly approaching his return.

So it doesn't sound surprising that Rahul Dravid, Nagarkoti's mentor since the time he broke into the India Under-19 side, would bring up the Cummins comparison whenever the two met at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.

"At the start when I got injured, it was difficult to come out of it. But, I would talk with Dravid sir, my coaches, and the motivation I used to get from them, small, small things... I used to learn. I wasn't playing due to the injury, so whatever motivation I could gain by talking with Dravid sir, I took it and that helped me to get confidence," Nagarkoti tells Cricbuzz.

"When I was at the NCA, Dravid used to come and talk to me. He had told me 'Pat Cummins too took 3-4 years to make a comeback (after suffering from injuries), so don't think that you haven't played cricket for about two years. Just keep your focus and wait for your chance and don't get frustrated, don't feel negative that you aren't playing but your (Under-19) team-mates are playing. Everyone goes through such a time. Be patient and try to improve as much as you can, and during such a time you get the chance to learn a lot of things. Just wait for your chance,'" the young fast bowler from Rajasthan adds.

It was under Dravid's tutelage that Nagarkoti had teamed up with Shivam Mavi to set the Under-19 World Cup ablaze two years back. We might currently be in the midst of India's greatest ever pace era. But even as recently as early 2018, the way in which Nagarkoti in particular were pushing speed guns in New Zealand was welcomed with a sense of pleasant surprise around the world. And the routine bursts of 140+ won both Nagarkoti and Mavi plush IPL contracts with Kolkata Knight Riders.

Nagarkoti unfortunately missed IPL 2018 with a foot injury. A more serious injury - the back problem - resulted in him being ruled out of the 2018 domestic season and also the IPL in 2019.

Like with Cummins, there will be an equal amount of excitement and trepidation when Nagarkoti is back in action. ©Getty

Nagarkoti had no other choice but to paddle through his injury-wrecked year. Alongside NCA's physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar, he travelled to England to consult a couple of specialists about the back problem and eventually, it was decided that the surgery wouldn't be an option. Nagarkoti, however, had to go through a rigorous rehabilitation programme. The NCA in Bangalore became his workshop - far away from the cameras and limelight. Some of the strengthening exercises included swimming, wall climbing and squash.

During the tough phase, the tearaway fast bowler also developed a friendship with India's Test wicketkeeper, Wriddhiman Saha. The veteran cricketer was also going through his rehabilitation programme for a troublesome shoulder injury. The camaraderie between the pair was such that the duo would often indulge in a card game of UNO.

"For most of the (junior) players, when we interact with senior players, we feel how can we talk, how would they behave with us? But talking with Saha made me feel happy, and it never felt like he was a big player, he is a very humble person. And I had a lot of fun while spending time with him and had a lot of good things to learn from him. He himself was injured, so he said to me 'when the time is tough, you will be tested on how you handle it' and I learnt a lot."

Stress fractures of the back are quite common with fast bowlers. But on occasions, a fast bowler's action is tweaked by coaches to prevent further injuries. It could also lead to a pacer losing out on some of his or her strengths. In Nagarkoti's case, it felt as if there was a bit more of 'side-bend' with the head falling towards the left side. Ian Pont, the former Essex pacer, who also has extensive coaching experience feels, "He has a slight lateral flexion but not huge. The way to stop that is to pull from the sight screen and push the hips forward...creating a shoulder-hip separation."

"I wasn't playing due to the injury, so whatever motivation I could gain by talking with Dravid sir, I took it and that helped me to get confidence" ***

Nagarkoti, on his part, noted that there hasn't been a major change in his action. "Not much, just a minor change. Yes, I have changed it a bit, you can't prevent injuries, even if you become perfect, but you can reduce the chances of getting injured, which I have tried to. There isn't much change, other than that I'm trying to focus on my original action."

What impressed many about Nagarkoti wasn't just his skiddy pace, but his control over what he was looking to do with each ball. And as he admits, it came down to rhythm. And getting back his rhythm will be one of the key challenges on the youngster's comeback trail.

"The main thing I look at is rhythm. If you look at the players, bowlers around, you can notice better the rhythm, the accuracy increases. Your bowling speed also increases. The main factor I believe is your rhythm should be good."

Nagarkoti still recalls the World Cup fondly. He'd finished with 9 scalps at 16.33 apiece as India lifted the trophy convincingly, and ended up as one of the emerging stars of the tournament

"We were playing at such a big stage, the Under-19 World Cup, it is everyone's dream to play it. (Before that tournament), we were touring England and for the first time. We had just heard the wickets would be helpful to medium pacers. So, we talked to our coaches to understand how the wickets would behave there. Those questions that we asked (about conditions) helped us. In the World Cup I performed very well. My speed was something that people liked. I was also happy when I saw for the first time on TV (via speedgun) that my speed is this much (and) that made me happy."

And like with Cummins, there will be an equal amount of excitement and trepidation when Nagarkoti is back in action. The steely determination in his eyes suggest he's ready to prove Dravid's comparison right.

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