The small irony, here, is that, until September last year, Angkrish was not one. Behind Angkrish’s transformation as a keeper for KKR in IPL 2026 was a project planned by Abhishek Nayar, his long-time mentor and the side’s head coach and executed by fielding coach Dishant Yagnik.

"What motivated me was my team asked me if I could do a job for them and I'd never say no to that. But it was very tough at the start because I've never done it before and I didn't believe that I could do it. But our fielding coach, Dishant Yagnik, made me work tirelessly throughout the day and night.

“He made me do drills and was confident that I'll be able to do it. If he's confident like that, then it just helps me in also believing that I can do it and I really want to thank him for that," Angkrish told IANS in an exclusive conversation ahead of KKR’s clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, to be played in Raipur on Wednesday.

The pre-season fitness data was encouraging: Angkrish's flexibility and agility caught notice, and he topped Nayar's circuit test, designed to simulate high-intensity movement under fatigue. The bones of a keeper, it seemed, were already there. With the backing from KKR support staff, Angkrish has managed to do a decent job with the gloves, apart from being KKR’s leading run-getter in this season with 269 runs in ten games.

"I think it's very important to have some people who are calm in the dressing room because most people are having that adrenaline of the game and it's not easy to think objectively and with a calm head at that time, a lot of emotions happen. So when you have people like that who can do the thinking for you, then it becomes very easy and they communicate a lot with us and if we can listen to them, I think it's a blessing for us to have them," he added.

The dressing room's approach in the tournament, as per Angkrish, has removed the weight of pressure rather than adding more of it. "Actually, I think I'm blessed to have this team and this support staff around me. They say that 'Don't think about being responsible too much, just think about enjoying the game and trying to do what you feel is right for the team.'

“When someone says that, obviously from inside you want to do well for the team, but when someone says that, it takes the pressure off and just helps me do my work. So it's a great environment to have," he added.

The coaches he credits most deeply for making his life smooth in KKR are Nayar and Yagnik. "For Abhishek sir, I've always said that not just my batting, but every growing phase and learning in my life on the field and off the field comes from him. He's, I think, the most important person in my life.

“Dishant sir has been great in terms of just making me do drills every day and not letting me have a day off. I think it's helping me on the field. Just the few lessons that I've learned from both of them are just how important it is to always work hard because I'm given this opportunity and not many people are. So I have to be grateful for it and I have to do something about it."

The physical toll is real, and he does not underplay it. “I think wicket keeping and batting are already hectic enough as it is, so I can have my cheat meals whenever I want.

“But also the physio Dr. Prashant (Panchada) and Dr. Abhishek (Sawant) and the trainers CD (Chris Donaldson) and Sagar (VM) sir - they're great with just telling me exactly what I need because it's a very hectic schedule.

“So you can't over train and under train - it has to be the perfect amount and I leave it all up to them and then they tell me what to do and I trust them completely,” he added.

KKR extending their winning streak to four games after a difficult six-game stretch came in New Delhi, the place where Angkrish spent his formative years before moving to Mumbai to be under Nayar. Having experienced the best of both cities, Angkrish has settled well into the Mumbaikar identity.

"I think that was one of the most important moves of my career when I moved to Mumbai because when I played there, I saw how many people are working hard to play there and it just motivated me every day to obviously work harder than them, but also to be grateful for the life that I have and I think that's why I say that I'm a Bombaywallah because of the culture of cricket there and everything I've seen while growing up. So now I embrace that title fully."

As for what lies ahead, especially with KKR still in the reckoning for a miraculous entry into the playoffs, the ambition is kept deliberately small by Angkrish. "I'm not someone who likes to keep goals. I just think that next match, we just have to win the next match and I think it's working also (right now).”

"I think that was one of the most important moves of my career when I moved to Mumbai because when I played there, I saw how many people are working hard to play there and it just motivated me every day to obviously work harder than them, but also to be grateful for the life that I have and I think that's why I say that I'm a Bombaywallah because of the culture of cricket there and everything I've seen while growing up. So now I embrace that title fully."

The stumping of Nissanka was the moment that caught everyone’s eye about Angkrish’s keeping. But it was Yagnik's drills and Nayar's quiet conviction, along with Angkrish never saying no to any role that made it turn into reality. For someone referred to as KKR's starboy, donning keeper's gloves were never about adding a skill – it was about answering a call KKR needed and he’s simply doing that.