Horses for courses: Senthilnathan’s mantra to improve state of affairs
CHENNAI: Former Tamil Nadu and India U-19 player M Senthilnathan is delighted to head the senior state selection committee of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) for the upcoming season. He takes over from his former statemate S Sharath. This is the third time that Senthilnathan has been appointed as a selector.“I am happy to take the job as a selector. It’s a huge responsibility. My first job is to meet the other members, sit with them and analyse what happened last season. I shall take the positives and dwell upon what went wrong for us. After taking stock of the situation, we will chart a way to take the team forward,’’ said Senthilnathan.
TN did not play to their potential last season in all the three formats. Senthilnathan said that he will look to get a good mix of youngsters and seniors. “The ideal team is the one that has the right mixture of youth and experience. We won’t take youngsters for the sake of taking them. Only those who have the talent and can last the course will be given an opportunity. Youngsters who have potential will also be given the long rope and there will not be cutting and chopping”
Senthilnathan also revealed that he was open to the idea of fielding different teams across various formats. “Whoever does well will get the nod. Players who suit a particular format will be given preference. Players who suit a particular format will be given the preference. There will be no age bar. Our aim will be to build a strong team across formats for the future.’’
Injuries is something that has hurt the team in the last two seasons with TN unable to cope in the absence of medium pacers like T Natarajan, Aswin Crist and Yo Mahesh. “We would certainly try to improve our bench strength. We will also try to talk to all the players and instill in them the importance of injury prevention and management,” said Senthilnathan.
Former TN spinner R Ramkumar, who is a member of the panel, promised to give his best. “It is a good opportunity for me to once again serve the game and the state. I would love to watch a lot of matches and spot talents and nurture them for our state and U-23 sides.”
Selection committees
Senior state & U 23: M Senthilnathan (chairman), R Ramkumar, T Karunamoorthy, S Chandramouli (Districts). U-19: S Srinivason (chairman), S Ravindran John, V Rajinikanth (Vellore), A Senthil Kumar (Trichy). U-16: RG Shyam Sundar (chairman), K Kubendran, A Thirumoorthy (Cuddalore), K Narayanasamy (Madurai). U-14: PB Anand (chairman), CK Venkataraman, R Venkatesh (Coimbatore), M Sridhar Raj (Villupuram).