Kanwaljit all excited with young Naga leggie Kense

The 16-year-old spinner, who took seven wickets in the recently concluded T20 tournament in Chennai, has been invited by MI and RR.

Hyderabad: Khrievitso Kense has seen only 16 summers. But this young leg spinner from a non-descript village of Sovima in Nagaland is already creating ripples. In the recently concluded T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali cricket tournament in Chennai, the baby-faced spinner caught the eye with a stellar show and became the first cricketer from Nagaland to be called for IPL trials being invited by Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals franchises.

Former Hyderabad off spinner Kanwaljit Singh, who is the coach of the Nagaland team since four years, is all excited with this little leg spinner. ‘’He has impressed with his leg spin. He is just 16 years but showed a lot of guile, control over the ball and maturity. He has a big heart. He is fastish in the air and he spins the ball a lot. He troubled all the batsmen. He made a stunning start which could be an exciting prospect if he continues to work on his game,’’ said the 62-year-old coach.

Kense’s father is a carpenter and has four sisters. But he got attracted to cricket at the age of 11 years and played in Sovima local grounds. He was spotted by one Neketo Rupreo. Kense even played for the Nagaland under-16 team.

This year, at the insistence of Kanwaljit, the Nagaland senior selectors called a couple of young players, including from the junior teams, to the T20 trials. “Captain Jonathan and vice-captain Hokiato convinced me that Kense could be a good addition to the team.

Today I’m not disappointed with this decision as Kense bowled with a lot of enthusiasm and purpose. He is hungry for success. He took seven wickets, including figures of 4-0-16-3, in the tournament. It is a tremendous start to an exciting career,’’ he said.

Kanwaljit said there are a lot of young talents in the State, particularly a few fast bowlers. “The decision of BCCI to give affiliation to the North East States has seen a new spurt of talent from these new States. Kense’s selection to IPL trials would see more players taking to cricket,’’ he added.

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