Srikar Bharat

Kona Srikar Bharat, popularly known as KS Bharat is an Indian Cricketer born on 3rd October 1993 in the city of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. He is a right-handed batsman known for his temperament and wicket-keeping abilities.

Srikar Bharat Along the years 

Srikar Bharat Records 

• 4th player to have the most catches by a substitute in an inning in Test cricket. 

• First wicketkeeper to score a triple ton in Ranji Trophy history in 2015. 

Career

Hailing from Visakhapatnam, Srikar Bharat came into the spotlight after scoring 758 runs for Andhra in the 2014/15 Ranji Trophy. Bharat’s skills have impressed the selectors and helped him earn a place in the Indian squad on multiple occasions. He made his international debut against Australia in a Test match in February 2023.

Bharat holds the record for being the first wicket-keeper to slam a triple ton in Ranji Trophy history. He has worked hard on his batting skills and will be keen to showcase his talent in IPL 2021.

30-year-old Wicketkeeper Batter Srikar Bharat made his first-class debut at the age of 19 for Andhra Pradesh but it took seven years for him to feature in his first IPL game. After two years he made his international debut in the longer format. 

Domestic Career

KS Bharat made his List-A debut for Andhra on February 20, 2012. The wicketkeeper-batsman received his maiden domestic cap at the senior level against Tamil Nadu at Bengaluru. He opened the innings for the team but departed to the pavilion after scoring only a solitary run.

He surprised everyone by playing some aggressive shots on his first-class debut. In the second innings of his debut match against Kerala, Bharat smashed four fours and three sixes in his 28-ball 37. However, he has worked on his batting skills now and has aggregated 4,283 first-class runs at a strike rate of 59.54.

Bharat played his first domestic T20 match against Tamil Nadu at Bhadravati on March 17, 2013. He lost his stumps after a 21-ball 15. Currently, Bharat has an aggregate of 730 runs in 44 T20 innings. His strike rate is less than 110, but his glovework is better than many domestic keepers.

The 27-year-old has taken 270 catches and executed 31 stumpings in his first-class career. Meanwhile, he has taken a total of 90 catches in the other two formats.

Bharat’s T20 numbers do not reflect his true batting abilities. His batting strike rate is 106.10, while his batting average is 17.80 in the game’s shortest format. However, recently in the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Bharat smashed a 34-ball 62 against Puducherry at the Wankhede Stadium. If he gets going in the middle, it is challenging for the bowlers to stop him from scoring big.

IPL Career

KS Bharat earned his maiden IPL deal from the Delhi Daredevils back in 2015. He received a deal worth INR 10 lakh then. However, he never got a chance to play in IPL. The Royal Challengers Bangalore Team secured his services for INR 20 lakh at the recent auction. It will be interesting to see if he receives his maiden IPL cap this year in IPL 2021.

He performed decently in his first season of IPL scoring 191 runs in eight games at 38.20 and the best score of unbeaten 78. Next year he only got to play two games in which he managed to score eight runs. 

In 2024 he will be in the KKR squad but hasn't got any games to play yet. 

Srikar Bharat International Career

Srikar's journey to take his first step into international cricket was not an easy one. Bharat was earlier kept as the backup to Wriddiman Saha in the Test series against Bangladesh in 2019 where he missed playing a single match.

After this, in January 2020, he was once again kept as the backup to Rishabh Pant in the ODI series against Australia, but there too he did not get to play a single match.

In January 2021, his name was once again included in the standby players for the Test series against England, and then the same feat was repeated in May the same year.

Bharat entered the field for the first time in the 2021 Test Championship when he was included as a substitute in place of injured Vriddhiman Saha, where he impressed everyone with his excellent wicketkeeping.

Bharatwas included in the team in the Test series against Sri Lanka in February 2022 and in the Test series against England in May 2022, but this time also they remained empty-handed

Bharat got his maiden test cap on 9th February 2023 against Australia and it is the only format that he has appeared in. 

Srikar Bharat Test Career 

Due to the tragic accident of the regular wicket-keeper batsman of the Indian Test team  Rishabh Pant, Srikar got a golden opportunity to make his debut in international cricket in the Test series against Australia. Bharat could score only eight runs in its first match.

He scored 129 runs and took 12 catches in five matches played in 2023. In 2024, he got the opportunity to participate in only 2 matches where he scored 92 runs at an average of 23.

Srikar has not performed a single score of 50 or more with his bat so far, the 44 runs scored against Australia is his highest Test score.

He has taken a total of 18 catches and 1 stumping in his Test career so far.

Srikar Bharat Family 

Sreekar was born on 3 October 1993 in Visakhapatnam to Kona Srinivasa Rao and Manga Devi. His father Kona Srinivas Rao worked as a master craftsman in the Naval Dockyard of the city and his mother is a homemaker.

Sreekar did his early education from St. Aloysius High School and did his B.Com graduation from Dr. Lankapalli Bullayya College.

Sreekar Bharat tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend Anjali N in 2020.

Srikar Bharat's Net Worth 

As of 2024, KS Bharat’s estimated net worth is around INR 9 crore. His major source of income is his domestic cricket and IPL contract. He was signed by KKR at the amount of INR 50 lakh for IPL 2024.