Vipin Vats does not mince words when he recalls the tumultuous journey of his ward Kartik Tyagi.<\/p>\n
Praveen Kumar, Sudeep Tyagi and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had already blazed a trail from his stables to the national side, so by the time Kartik ended up under his watch, Vats knew a thing or two about producing a pacer good enough for international cricket.<\/p>\n
Kartik was earmarked to follow the path of his predecessors. He played for India Under-19 and then was signed up by Rajasthan Royals for the IPL 2020 season. An injury crisis during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020-21 got Kartik invaluable time in the Indian team as a net bowler.<\/p>\n
![\"Kartik](\"https:\/\/ss-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/3pezga\/article70992913.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/IMG_TROPHY__12__2_1_VB86GKG5.jpg\" "\\"Kartik")
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![\"lightbox-info\"\/](\"https:\/\/assetsss.thehindu.com\/theme\/images\/SSRX\/lightbox-info.svg\")
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Kartik Tyagi (standing, centre) seen during the Indian team\u2019s celebrations post the historic win over Australia at The Gabba on January 19, 2021.
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Gifted with a lanky frame and quick arm speed, which set him apart from the rest, according to Vats, Kartik was earning a reputation for rushing the batters with nippy pace and bounce. In the background, however, concerns also loomed over Kartik\u2019s frequent bouts with injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened was that he was putting too much load on his body at a time when his muscles were still developing and not ready for that level of intensity. So, we made him realise that he needs to progress gradually. He was barely 20 when he went to the IPL. So obviously, he won\u2019t be able to perform like a 27-28-year-old who is at the peak of his abilities,\u201d Vats says.<\/p>\n
READ: Would love to own a team in WPL, says Punjab Kings co-owner Mohit Burman<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Kartik would clock 150kmph at times, yet gametime in the IPL was limited. By 2024, recurring shin splints and stress injuries restricted him. He was with the Gujarat Titans that season and played just once. \u201cThis is a tender age where you make decisions without enough thought or understanding the consequences. And that is what happened; he got injured, and he could do nothing but sit out and recover,\u201d Vats says.<\/p>\n This was the cue for Kartik to mend his ways and mould himself again. Kartik pulled out of IPL 2025 and reached out to Ashish Kaushik at Yos Sports Health, who had erstwhile worked as head physiotherapist at the BCCI\u2019s National Cricket Academy (now Centre of Excellence) and helped him through the U-19 circuit.<\/p>\n The root cause for both shin splints and back stress lay in Kartik\u2019s load-up to the crease.<\/p>\n Clinical care was offered for a certain period which was to heal his bones, but a large part of the treatment was to fix his running technique, which was leading to fatigue. \u201cWork was done on energy efficiency and to find a way that would make his weight transfer more fluid and that would eventually reduce stress. We got a lot of positives from those changes.<\/p>\n \u201cThis went on for a good few weeks; there was a lot of back and forth. When you are out for a long period of time, doubts can creep into young players. They need continuous guidance to stay on the path so that old habits do not creep back in and they can stick to the plan,\u201d Kaushik said.<\/p>\n