LUCKNOW, Oct. 31 -- Every young cricketer's story has a turning point and for Uttar Pradesh's promising left-arm spinner Kartik Yadav it isn't different as that moment came when his coach Amit Pal suggested he start bowling instead of batting during his early days in the game at the Madan Mohan Malviya Stadium in Prayagraj.

Today, with 18 wickets in the ongoing Under-23 Col CK Nayudu Trophy, Kartik is emerging as a vital young talent in the state set-up, but his path has been shaped as much by chance as by perseverance. Kartik began his cricketing pursuit as a batter, spending long hours at the nets learning to drive and defend.

In fact, his focus was always on scoring runs rather than taking wickets even in school matches. However, coa...