The late 2000s saw an influx of bright, young cricketers in Karnataka cricket, and CMGautam was one of the prominent names in that kids' revolution. An interaction will reveal Gautam as an easy-going, ready-to-smile and an articulate youngman, whose interests touch many spheres of life and sport.
But that's just one part. He's equally sparkling at the crease -- a fine confluence of talent and temperament.
On multiple occasions this season, Karnataka needed Gautam's fine set of skills as a batsman. He was only happy to respond to pressure situations and his season's tally of 943 runs -- only the third batsman to cross the 900-mark this season -- is a just reflection of the impact he had made on the fortunes of his team.
He towered head and shoulders above his team-mates, but he had to work hard to reach this point. Since his debut in 2008-09, Gautam has always remained in the shadow of more stylish and aggressive players in the Karnataka ranks such as Ganesh Satish, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Stuart Binny. But the 2012-13 season offered him a perfect stage to express himself and underscore his talent.
However, the first match against Baroda at Vadodara didn't offer much hints to the windfall days -- a princley 21 and two catches suggested another season languishing at the back rows. But then came the turning point -- an unbeaten 130 against Tamil Nadu in Chennai that helped Karnataka grab three points for innings lead.
It was enough for batting coach JArun Kumar to spot the spark in Gautam. Going through a batting trough for most part of the season, the Karnataka think tank wanted to bolster the middle-order, and Arun Kumar didn't have to deliberate much to promote Gautam to number four from his usual number seven.
The big moment came in the sixth match against Vidarbha at Mysore. Coming in at number four with Karnataka having lost two wickets for 50-odd, Gautam joined forces with KLRahul in spectacular fashion as the home side marched beyond the reach of Vidarbha. He caressed deliveries with delicate hands en route a remarkable 257, and there was no one to challenge Gautam for the number four spot for the rest of the season.
Now, you'd expect Gautam to dish out all kinds of theories about how he prepared his mind and game prior to the season. But by his own admission, there wasn't none, and perhaps, that liberated approach helped him build some tall edifices. "Basically, when I started the season, honestly speaking, I didn't have any goals. I just wanted to enjoy my game. So, I'll probably continue to do the same thing because that worked for me really well this season. I didn't have any goal, didn't put any pressure on myself… playing for India, State or whatever," said the Royal Challengers Bangalore player.
"One thing I had on my mind when starting this season was I wanted to be the best, so I just went out and enjoy. But since I have done well this season I fancy my chances of playing for India soon," he added.
Another season of consistency and big runs might see that dream coming true, but he can't rest on the laurels. Going by his performances this season, one can safely assume that Gautam will not waste the hard yards he has taken, and his double hundred against Maharashtra in a must-win game at Pune offered a glimpse to his mindset.
First, he made 264 that was the cornerstone of Karnataka's imposing 572 for nine declared, and Maharshtra's fightback in the second innings while following-on meant that the visitors would be chasing 89 in 12 overs. Gautam smashed an unbeaten eight-ball 16 to carry his team home, and those runs were as vital as his double hundred in the first innings, also carrying Karnataka to the quarterfinals where they eventually bowed to Saurashtra.
Batting at number four might have come as a different experience for someone who started as an opener and then went on to play at number seven. Gautam explained the scenario. "Once I started keeping wickets, it was very tough to open the batting. So, they pushed me to number seven straight away....from 1 to 7 (smiles). The thing was, in the first game I batted at seven against Bengal, I got a 100. So, even I didn't have anything to say after getting a hundred, so I just stuck to that spot.
I also got some five hundreds batting at number seven; my success ratio was good at the spot, though I wanted to bat up the order. Now, I'm batting really well and I want to bat at number four, I've told JAK (J Arun Kumar) and Vinay (Kumar) also about it."
Much to his credit, Gautam has improved as a wicketkeeper as well. Gautam, who started his career at the Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC), has to live up to a big legacy.
After all Karnataka have produced some fine stumpers like Syed Kirmani, Sadanand Vishwanath and VS Thilak Naidu, the immediate predecessor of Gautam.
Once Naidu moved away, Gautam was selected for the big gloves in the 2009-10 season, but he has certain technical issues to address to. Gautam has had a problem with moving sideways and has been struggling to judge the the path of the ball when a spinner comes on. But determination and a broom helped him, with his coach Arun using a broom instead of a bat to give catching practice to the 'keeper. Let's listen to Gautam.
"I hadn't kept much for spinners, if you look at it. We used to play three fast bowlers - (Abhimanyu) Mithun, (Sreenath) Arvind and Vinay (Kumar). Only Sunil Joshi used to bowl spin. Now, I'm getting used to it as we're always playing two spinners," said Gautam.
So, what about the broom? "I feel deflection going by the sound at times. Sometimes what happens is, when you hear the edge, your hands get stiff. So, we do that to get used to it. It's helping a lot and if you look at it, I've had a superb season. I have had 35 dismissals this season. That's a big improvement from what I used to have before."
Now, time to target bigger feats!
Roshan Thyagarajan
But that's just one part. He's equally sparkling at the crease -- a fine confluence of talent and temperament.
On multiple occasions this season, Karnataka needed Gautam's fine set of skills as a batsman. He was only happy to respond to pressure situations and his season's tally of 943 runs -- only the third batsman to cross the 900-mark this season -- is a just reflection of the impact he had made on the fortunes of his team.
He towered head and shoulders above his team-mates, but he had to work hard to reach this point. Since his debut in 2008-09, Gautam has always remained in the shadow of more stylish and aggressive players in the Karnataka ranks such as Ganesh Satish, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Stuart Binny. But the 2012-13 season offered him a perfect stage to express himself and underscore his talent.
However, the first match against Baroda at Vadodara didn't offer much hints to the windfall days -- a princley 21 and two catches suggested another season languishing at the back rows. But then came the turning point -- an unbeaten 130 against Tamil Nadu in Chennai that helped Karnataka grab three points for innings lead.
It was enough for batting coach JArun Kumar to spot the spark in Gautam. Going through a batting trough for most part of the season, the Karnataka think tank wanted to bolster the middle-order, and Arun Kumar didn't have to deliberate much to promote Gautam to number four from his usual number seven.
The big moment came in the sixth match against Vidarbha at Mysore. Coming in at number four with Karnataka having lost two wickets for 50-odd, Gautam joined forces with KLRahul in spectacular fashion as the home side marched beyond the reach of Vidarbha. He caressed deliveries with delicate hands en route a remarkable 257, and there was no one to challenge Gautam for the number four spot for the rest of the season.
Now, you'd expect Gautam to dish out all kinds of theories about how he prepared his mind and game prior to the season. But by his own admission, there wasn't none, and perhaps, that liberated approach helped him build some tall edifices. "Basically, when I started the season, honestly speaking, I didn't have any goals. I just wanted to enjoy my game. So, I'll probably continue to do the same thing because that worked for me really well this season. I didn't have any goal, didn't put any pressure on myself… playing for India, State or whatever," said the Royal Challengers Bangalore player.
"One thing I had on my mind when starting this season was I wanted to be the best, so I just went out and enjoy. But since I have done well this season I fancy my chances of playing for India soon," he added.
Another season of consistency and big runs might see that dream coming true, but he can't rest on the laurels. Going by his performances this season, one can safely assume that Gautam will not waste the hard yards he has taken, and his double hundred against Maharashtra in a must-win game at Pune offered a glimpse to his mindset.
First, he made 264 that was the cornerstone of Karnataka's imposing 572 for nine declared, and Maharshtra's fightback in the second innings while following-on meant that the visitors would be chasing 89 in 12 overs. Gautam smashed an unbeaten eight-ball 16 to carry his team home, and those runs were as vital as his double hundred in the first innings, also carrying Karnataka to the quarterfinals where they eventually bowed to Saurashtra.
Batting at number four might have come as a different experience for someone who started as an opener and then went on to play at number seven. Gautam explained the scenario. "Once I started keeping wickets, it was very tough to open the batting. So, they pushed me to number seven straight away....from 1 to 7 (smiles). The thing was, in the first game I batted at seven against Bengal, I got a 100. So, even I didn't have anything to say after getting a hundred, so I just stuck to that spot.
I also got some five hundreds batting at number seven; my success ratio was good at the spot, though I wanted to bat up the order. Now, I'm batting really well and I want to bat at number four, I've told JAK (J Arun Kumar) and Vinay (Kumar) also about it."
Much to his credit, Gautam has improved as a wicketkeeper as well. Gautam, who started his career at the Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC), has to live up to a big legacy.
After all Karnataka have produced some fine stumpers like Syed Kirmani, Sadanand Vishwanath and VS Thilak Naidu, the immediate predecessor of Gautam.
Once Naidu moved away, Gautam was selected for the big gloves in the 2009-10 season, but he has certain technical issues to address to. Gautam has had a problem with moving sideways and has been struggling to judge the the path of the ball when a spinner comes on. But determination and a broom helped him, with his coach Arun using a broom instead of a bat to give catching practice to the 'keeper. Let's listen to Gautam.
"I hadn't kept much for spinners, if you look at it. We used to play three fast bowlers - (Abhimanyu) Mithun, (Sreenath) Arvind and Vinay (Kumar). Only Sunil Joshi used to bowl spin. Now, I'm getting used to it as we're always playing two spinners," said Gautam.
So, what about the broom? "I feel deflection going by the sound at times. Sometimes what happens is, when you hear the edge, your hands get stiff. So, we do that to get used to it. It's helping a lot and if you look at it, I've had a superb season. I have had 35 dismissals this season. That's a big improvement from what I used to have before."
Now, time to target bigger feats!
Roshan Thyagarajan