A combative attitude has been the biggest positive for S. Sharath from the Tamil Nadu Ranji team this season.
The chairman of the State senior selection panel believed the side had displayed fight and resolve in difficult situations so far.
Tamil Nadu is close to qualification for the last-eight stage from a competitive Group-A but needs to take its last step — the side meets Gujarat at Belagavi in its final league match from December 7 — with a combination of diligence and aggressive intent.
The side has 23 points from seven matches and deserves credit for the manner in which it has rebounded after suffering a nerve-wracking two-wicket defeat in the first game against Mumbai at Lahli.
Good blend
“This team is a blend of experience and youth. It has come together well. Each player has a clear-cut role,” said Sharath in a chat with The Hindu .
Apart from the reverse against Mumbai and losing the lead to Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu has beaten Railways and Baroda outright and gained first innings advantage over Bengal, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.
Sharath said, “A lot of credit should go to skipper Abhinav Mukund. When a captain is also an opener, there can be very little switch-off and switch-on time between innings. He has made runs and captained well.”
Abhinav has 573 runs at 63.66 with three hundreds, opening the innings in conditions assisting seam and swing at neutral venues.
Sharath was appreciative of coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar and bowling coach L. Balaji. “Both are process-oriented, guide the boys in a very mature, calm manner.”
He also lauded Dinesh Karthik’s form with the bat. The senior batsman leads the Tamil Nadu pack in aggregate as well as average with 574 runs at 63.77. “He is still angry with himself for not converting his knocks into bigger scores,” said Sharath.
Rapid strides
And three younger cricketers have made rapid strides this season — batsman Kaushik Gandhi, paceman K. Vignesh and wicket-keeper batsman N. Jagadeesan. The selectors deserve credit for picking the right talent.
Feisty top-order batsman Kaushik Gandhi has 507 runs at 56.33. “He has been brought up in a tough environment. He has this batting-for-his-life attitude. He is an accumulator,” said Sharath about this small-built batsman with a big heart.
The lanky Vignesh has been incisive with the ball with a stunning 32 scalps at 18.40. Sharath said, “The best thing is that he does not need a warm-up ball, is on target from first delivery. He bowls in good areas, moves the ball, goes for wickets.”
In fact, the Tamil Nadu pace attack has spearheaded the side’s challenge with Aswin Crist (25 wickets at 29.48) and the young T. Natarajan (14 at 38.92) who brings with him pace and left-armer’s angle, combining well with Vignesh. “We have a lively bunch of pacemen who complement one another now” said Sharath.
And stroke-maker Jagadeesan has made runs (178 at 59.33) in crisis situations and ’kept wickets capably (16 catches). “He has plenty of natural ability,” Sharath observed.
He realised there were problem areas too, such as the lack of a reliable opening partner for Mukund, but was confident that Tamil Nadu would fill the breach soon.
The promise is there but can Tamil Nadu go deep into the Ranji season this time around?
