Sibin Girish’s spectacular rise from obscurity

From being omitted from the auction list in the inaugural edition of Kerala Cricket League (KCL) to being the most expensive player in the third edition, it has been a fairytale journey for Sibin Girish.

Sibin drew aggressive bids from Calicut Globstars, Thrissur Titans and Kochi Blue Tigers before Alleppey Ripples secured him for ₹11.80 lakh. The amount was a steep jump from his base price of ₹75,000 for Category C players.

The 27-year-old all-rounder was on the radar of several franchises following his impressive performance in KCL last season and in the NSK Trophy inter-district T20 tournament in June this year. Sibin finished KCL 2025 with 15 wickets with an average of 18.67 and an economy of 8.00. It also included two four wicket hauls, both against Ripples.

At the NSK Trophy, Sibin’s all-round performance took Malappuram to the semifinals. His standout performance came against Palakkad when he scored 54 runs off 30 balls and took four for 25 wickets.

“We had Sibin on our radar following his consistent performances in KCL last year and in various tournaments. He bowls medium pace and is a good finisher. He is the kind of all-rounder we need to bring balance to our squad,” said Ripples’ former captain Mohammed Azharuddeen during the auction.

Surprised

A late bloomer, who started playing cricket seriously only when he was in 11th standard, Sibin was quite surprised at the attention he received at the auction.

“Honestly I expected to be picked by a franchise. But I never imagined in my dreams that I would be the most expensive player in the auction. With this price tag comes responsibility. I don’t want to call it pressure but I will have to live up to the hype and perform well for my team,’’ said Sibin, an M.Tech from Government Engineering College, Thrissur.

Sibin’s career took off after he joined Jolly Rovers Perinthalmanna two years ago. It was here he blossomed as an all-rounder, getting ample game time both as a batter and as a new ball bowler.

“Though I was part of the Ranji Trophy and Syed Musthaq Ali squads last season, I never got a chance to represent Kerala. I did play for Kerala in the Oman tour. My goal is to play for the State in all formats this season,’’ said Sibin.