Draft:John Kariko

John Kariko (born 16 January 2004) is a cricketer from Papau New Guinea. He is a left handed spin bowler and left-handed batsman.

Early and personal life
His father was a cricketer but Kariko preferred volleyball as a youngster and only started playing cricket as a teenager.

Career
A slow left-armer spin bowler, he played for his country at the 2022 Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup held in the West Indies, taking five for 19 against Uganda in the Plate play-off semi-finals. Against Uganda he was also dismissed via a mankad dismissal by Ugandan bowler Cyrus Kakuru.

He made his senior T20 International debut against Uganda in July 2023 and was awarded man-of-the-match after taking three wickets. He was part of the Papau New Guinea side that qualified for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. He was subsequently named in the Papau New Guinea squad for the tournament