Kulkarni takes over as Tamil Nadu coach
CHENNAI: Former Mumbai wicket-keeper batter Sulakshan Kulkarni has been appointed the coach of the Tamil Nadu senior cricket team for the next two seasons. The 56-year-old takes over from M Venkataramana. Kulkarni has won the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai both as a cricketer and as a coach. He has coached several age group teams in the Ranji Trophy. He has scored 3,332 runs in 65 First Class matches at an average of 38.29 and has taken 122 catches and effected 21 stumpings.
Tamil Nadu had a forgetful season this year in the Ranji Trophy failing to make the knock-outs once again. They lost many matches they should have won. The TN team lacked instinct and at times were waiting for things to happen rather than make things happen. Kulkarni’s main job would be to instill a sense of self-confidence in the players and also make them uplift the quality of their game when the situation demands.
“It feels good to take over as coach of Tamil Nadu. It has always been a very good team over the years. They have rich legacy. And to coach the Tamil Nadu team is a great honour,” said Kulkarni upon taking over the job.
Challenge accepted
Coaching Tamil Nadu is a challenge as many players from the districts are emerging from the success of the Tamil Nadu Premier League. Often key players like R Ashwin, Washington Sundar and T Natarajan are unavailable due to national duty.
“I always take a challenge because I’ve been coaching so many teams across India and outside the country. Right from Under-19 to any team I’ve coached and the Ranji Trophy, whether it is a developed or a developing team, I have given my best. I have coached a team like Mumbai to a title win.
Plus during my three-year stint I had moulded a team like Chhattisgarh. Recently, I coached the Punjab Under-19 team and they went to the final,” shared Kulkarni, adding that he has the experience to take Tamil Nadu forward.
Tamil Nadu has won the Ranji Trophy (red-ball) twice in 1955 and in 1988. In the last decade or so, Tamil Nadu has won a couple of titles in white-ball cricket and has not done well in red-ball cricket. So whoever gets to coach the team is under immense pressure. “I take it positively. So I don’t have any pressure. You will find different people with a different attitude. Like Mumbai, Tamil Nadu team, on paper, is very good. The team is already there and an able side; they just need to fine tune a few things,” he opined.
Learnings from the greats
Kulkarni has played with the greats and has shared the dressing room with Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, Sandeep Patil, and Sachin Tendulkar. “That will help me share my experience with the Tamil Nadu players and teach them about the winning touch,’’ he added.
Right from the days of VV Kumar, S Venkataraghavan, S Vasudevan, L Sivaramakrishnan to the current lot of Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram, spin has been the trump card for Tamil Nadu. But today with the majority of the Ranji matches played in the North, there is a dilemma as to whether to have a spin-centric bowling attack or a medium-pace one.
“I know that spin has been Tamil Nadu’s strength over the years. But today you get to play in different conditions. The wickets will demand the choice of players. If it is a seaming track we have to use mediumpacers. So we will have an all-round side that has players from all the departments and the conditions will dictate the playing XI,” said Kulkarni, insisting that he would like to watch some of the TNCA First division matches before joining the TN team in June later this year.