A vintage 32-ball 87 run knock from veteran Kerala batsman Robin Uthappa helped guide his side to a nine-wicket win over Bihar in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Sunday.
Uthappa rolled back the years in his blistering innings, smashing 10 sixes and four boundaries as Kerala notched a fourth win in five games. And it was with this signature power-hitting ability that he announced himself on the international stage 15 years ago.
After making a name for himself with the India-B side in the Challenger Series in 2006, Uthappa earned his first call up to the national side during the England tour of India in 2006.
Also Read | Prithvi Shaw hits 200 off 142 balls in Vijay Hazare Trophy
And the Kodagu, Karnataka-born batsman enjoyed a dream debut, scoring 86 runs as India chased down a 288-run target with seven wickets in hand.
He was then selected for the inaugural T20 World Cup next year, where he started well and played all matches for the Indian side that went on to lift the trophy.
But after the emergence of the likes of Virat Kohli in 2008, Uthappa was mostly overlooked by selectors and faded away from the Indian side. His next call up for India, after the 2008 Asia Cup, came in the 2014 tour of Bangladesh.
However, Uthappa’s exploits early in his career set the stage for him to shine in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he has been a consistent performer since its inception.
Also Read | Vijay Hazare Trophy: Azim Kazi, Yash Nahar tons downed by Shreyas Iyer and Mumbai
Uthappa had a disappointing first season with the Mumbai Indians and started coming into his own from the 2010 season, a year into his stint for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
His best season came for the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, when he won the Orange Cap, scoring 660 runs including a record streak of eleven 40+ scores, and fired them to their second IPL title. Uthappa was traded from the Rajasthan Royals to the Chennai Super Kings for the 2021 IPL season.
He is the 9th all-time top-scorer in the league, amassing a total of 4,607 runs.
In the domestic circuit, he had a fallout with his home state Karnataka’s board, leading to his exit, following which he was signed by Saurashtra ahead of the 2017-18 season. He then moved to Kerala ahead of the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy season.
