BASIL SYLVESTER PINTO
PANAJI
Much the same way he played his cricket for close to two decades for Goa, Verem-based Sagun Kamat has as gracefully bowed out of the game. The very day “ October 21 which etched the elegant southpaw batsman in the annals of domestic cricket three years ago as the first triple centurion (and only so far!) for Goa in First Class cricket realised it to be the day he chose to retire as a cricketer. And that was not by choice, but purely coincidental.
As humbling as to the stature of his contribution to Goan cricket, the top-order batsman summed up his cricket journey: “It was a career of ups and downs, more of downs I think. But I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Why call it quits?
For a proven run-getter batting up the order for the last many years and being a prolific scorer for the last few seasons, Kamat’s form suddenly began to taper off towards the end of Ranji Trophy 2018-19 season. This slide in performance continued with the new season in the South Zone Vijay Hazare Trophy league stages that eventually found him dropped from the playing XI. Explaining his stance not to continue, he divulged, “I think it was the right time to move away. To be honest, I was not in the best of form from last year though I started out well (in Ranji last season). If you consider that to my form in the previous five years, I was scoring a lot of runs.”
Asked to choose a format to play
While his peers, Swapnil Asnodkar and Shadab Jakati were snubbed from the squad and asked to retire in recent years, Kamat had held on to his place with runs against his blade with the selectors’ prerogative of ‘perform or perish as a thumb rule.’
“Prior to last season, I had five good seasons as a batsman. Ahead of the 2018-19 season, a message was conveyed to me to choose a format but I was fine (to continue in all formats),” he disclosed.
Wasn’t playing in Ranji Trophy Plate a bait to stay on, get back runs and form?
Many great players desire farewell matches and ideally on their home ground, but seldom are players seen who chose to quietly walk away when opportunities to make it go out on a high beckon. “Whatever responsibility they want of me as a leader or player, I always took it. If I conveyed my feeling of playing the Ranji Trophy (2019-20), they wouldn’t say no. I could have played my part as a cricketer and walked away,” the affable batsman revealed.
And that is precisely what the bulwark of Goa’s top-order for several years did not do. Kamat chose to retire and ingrain that selflessness attribute in his legacy. He could well have rolled back his golden years into twilight with a colossal number of runs against arguably the weaker oppositions in the four-day competition.
“The thought of quitting in between the season was one that I never had. I had spoken to you (The Goan) on this earlier that we want to get the team back in Elite C Group. But when the thought entered my mind that this is the right time to move away, I took the decision,” the 36-year-old batsman asserted.
Ranji Trophy is not easy whoever you play
If you think Goa will have a good time in their efforts to get back in the Elite Group with the (perceived) weaker teams in Ranji Trophy, the former cricketer has an interesting take. “Ranji Trophy is never easy. You will have weaker opposition. But you have to spend the same amount of time to get the amount of runs. If you consider the (Plate) teams’ weaker opposition, I think this is the best time for me to see where they (youngsters) stand and cement their places and play for long,” Kamat reasoned.
Any regrets of not playing the IPL or the higher level?
Kamat was not fortunate as players of his golden era of Goan cricket “ Swapnil Asnodkar and Shadab Jakati to showcase his talent in the Indian Premier League, but he did have his run-ins to stake a claim to the next level.
“I was there in the KKR squad in 2011-12 but I never got an opportunity. I was even with the one-day South Zone team twice (2013, 2014-15) but never got to play,” he lamented. It has to be noted that Kamat was the leading one-day run-getter in India in 2014-15 in the league stages.
In the Vijay Hazare Trophy knock-outs (2015-16) against Odisha in Rajkot, Kamat limped off the field with cramps unbeaten on 94 not to return. On hindsight, he feels that had he been on field his team would have easily got across the line and not lost by five runs.
Career Highlights
For a self-effacing cricketer, his team’s success merited more satisfaction than individual glory. And possibly Kamat on hindsight would even put his triple hundred (304* v Services in Tangi, 2016), a benchmark set for other Goans to emulate at a pedestal a little lesser than his part played in the team’s win. “When we qualified for T-20s knock-outs with Nuwan Zoysa (former Sri Lankan cricketer) as coach, our team was at its best. As a team, we were at a point we could beat anyone in South Zone. We almost ended up playing the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2014-15. At the time, Swapnil was leading and it was the highlight of my career. Both (Swapnil and I) of us did really well in that tournament. Kamat singled out the T-20 innings of 95 he got against Karnataka in Vizag in 2015-16 as particularly memorable. “I may have been disappointed of not getting a three-digit score in the shortest format, but the innings was satisfying that it came for a winning cause against an attack that had the likes of Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun and Krishnappa Gowtham.
An India call-up that never came
Kamat did harbour a thought that an India call-up was within reach given a golden phase which saw him peaking in First Class cricket in 2016-17. In that season, Kamat amassed 876 runs from 16 innings at a healthy average of 54.75 with three tons and two half-centuries with an unbeaten 304 not out as his best. “The (India) thought came to mind, with my inclusion in the Duleep Trophy squad (India Blue) for 2017-18, you never know. But I never got the opportunity,” the batsman lamented.
Always wanted to play the next level
He may have never got to play at the next level, but Sagun Kamat definitely had a rewarding experience under the stead of Hrishikesh Kanitkar as Goa coach in 2016-17 which spiraled his growth as a batsman. “I always wanted to play the next level as a batsman and with Kanitkar as the coach; he told us how to succeed at that level. As a batsman, he told us not be satisfied with what you have achieved and his sole motto was just bat and bat on,” Kamat divulged.
Underwhelming career stats
An attractive left-hand willow wielder, Kamat’s domestic career spanning close to 20 years racked up 8584 runs across the three formats in in a combined 204 matches. In First Class cricket, the top-order batsman piled up 5248 runs from 90 matches at a modest average of 34.52 with 9 hundreds and 24 half centuries against his name and an unbeaten 304 being his personal best. From 56 List A appearances, he scored 1898 runs at an average of 36.50 with 3 three-digit scores and 13 fifties, 112 being his highest score. The graceful southpaw, who was part of the IPL set-up with KKR (2010-11) but never made his bow. He gave a decent account of himself in the T20s making 1438 runs from 58 outings at a decent 26.14 runs per innings and a strike rate of 110.44. In the shortest format, he had 13 half centuries with 95 as his best score. Few may know that he also has a couple of First Class wickets to his name with his leg-breaks.
The gifted batsman admitted his career record desired more than it promised. “In Ranji Trophy, yes I could have averaged more and got more hundreds. I tried my best but some things in life don’t go the way you want. I could have change the average to somewhere around 45. But whatever little I have achieved, I have worked hard towards it,” Kamat stated.
Adieu, but not for long!
Kamat owes the name and acclaim he commands through what the gentlemanly game has given him for so many years. “I’ve played this game for a long time, and I want to give back something to the game. I want to formally learn about coaching and possibly take up a coaching assignment thereon. I’ve got the experience (as a player). Goa Cricket Association (GCA) has given me an opportunity to play all these years and I am extremely proud of it. If they want me to help youngsters to grow as a cricketer, I will definitely do it.” he said.
