K Gowtham sends written apology to BCCI, yet to receive a response

Karnataka all-rounder K Gowtham has escalated big time in the domestic circuit in the recent past. He has made a huge reputation for himself in the local cricket circuit owing to his off-spin prowess and big hitting ability with the bat. Earlier this year, he was a big buy in the Indian Premier League Auctions when the Mumbai Indians bagged him for a whopping deal of INR 2 crore.

However, his most recent escapade saw him being barred from playing the Duleep Trophy and the India A series that followed subsequently. In the first match of the Duleep Trophy, K Gowtham had turned up for the India Red side. He even went on to bag a five wicket haul in the match. However, he left off for Bengaluru soon after the game without informing the officials.

He claimed that he was down with typhoid. But, he went back to Bengaluru and then turned up for a Karnataka Premier League (KPL) match without taking the permission from the BCCI. This did not go down well with the BCCI and they barred him from participating further in the competition. He was sent a show cause notice from the BCCI Game Development head Ratnakar Shetty as well.

His name was cancelled from the India A squad that took on the New Zealand A side. Gowtham sent an unconditional apology to the BCCI citing an unusual reason why he turned up for the Belagavi Panthers in one of the KPL matches. He mentioned, “I thought it was typhoid but it turned out to be viral fever.” K Gowtham felt that “bowling four overs and fielding for 85 minutes” was permissible but was totally unaware of the fact that those four overs could cost him an India A berth.

BCCI sends apology to disciplinary committee

The BCCI has summoned his apology to the disciplinary committee. The committee comprises of President CK Khanna, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Niranjan Shah.

“Yes, I have received his apology letter. In my view, it has been a huge mistake on Gowtham’s part to have disrespected a tournament of Duleep Trophy’s stature. He has apologised unconditionally. He is a young cricketer and we need to look at his career ahead. While I want him to give a written undertaking, I haven’t yet discussed with Mr Shah and Mr Scindia in this regard,” quoted Khanna as per the quotes in News18.