After two disappointing years in domestic cricket, Tamil Nadu will enter the 2019-20 season with some fresh faces and ideas in the support-staff department with coach D. Vasu at the helm of affairs.
He will have help in the form of former captain R. Prasanna, who has been promoted from fielding coach to assistant coach.
Speaking to The Hindu on Thursday, Prasanna said, “I am honoured they have kept faith in me and given me a bigger responsibility. But importantly Vasu sir has given me complete freedom in terms of my role. We are on the same page and looking forward especially after two poor seasons.”
During his playing days, Prasanna was a gutsy cricketer who would put a price on his wicket and the man the team depended on in tough conditions.
When asked if his gutsiness can be taught, Prasanna said, “100 %. It is a big challenge for my career as well but I have done my homework on a few players and shared with Vasu sir on what suits them. He has given me my space but at the same time I consult with him first before working on my solutions.”
“My role will be to help the young batsmen. We have a lot of youngsters like Hari Nishanth, M. Shahrukh Khan, J. Kousik and I have known them for the last two years as well. I think there is a level of comfort from both sides and they seem to trust that I speak sense. With a good mix of juniors and seniors, I can be a bridge because I have played with the seniors as well.”
“But at the same time they also realise that I can't make them comfortable all the time as well.”
The team had a 10-day camp in Tirupur ahead of Vijay Hazare Trophy that starts from September 24 and Prasanna said the team tried to recreate the conditions of Jaipur as much as possible in terms of wickets that might offer assistance to pace bowlers.
“We had two match simulations and Dinesh Karthik held a brainstorming session to set the ball rolling in letting people know what their roles are and asking them to work specifically keeping that in mind.
Prasanna concluded by saying the team is aware it has been below-par in the last two seasons and it is was time to step up.
