CHENNAI: Losing an experienced coach and captain at the same time can put any team in a spot of bother. Following B Arun’s move to the Indian team as bowling coach and S Badrinath’s decision to quit first-class cricket, Hyderabad find themselves in that position. They have hired Karnataka’s J Arun Kumar as coach and brought back Ambati Rayudu as skipper.
“It’s not easy for a side when it loses its coach and captain. Luckily, we roped in Arun Kumar and Rayudu will be leading the side. We are confident this combination will work and we are looking forward to a good domestic season,” said Arjun Yadav, Hyderabad’s coach for the Kalpathi-AGS Buchi Babu Trophy, on Wednesday.
As coach of Karnataka, Arun Kumar has groomed the likes of KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey. Under him, Karnataka won Ranji Trophy, Irani Trophy and the domestic limited-over title. “It’s great to have Arun Kumar as coach. He has done a lot of hard work with Karnataka, the results speak for themselves. He is good at handling the boys, knows to keep them at a comfortable level. We can learn from him and his rich reservoir of experience,’’ pointed out the former batsman.
Rayudu, who had quit Hyderabad due to his frosty relationship with the Hyderabad Cricket Association, is now seen as a player who can put the team back on the track.“It’s fantastic to get Rayudu back. His experience will help the other batters and his experience as a cricketer will help the whole team,’’ said Arjun. Rayudu plays for India Cements in the HCA league, managed by Arjun. “He is a thorough professional. He has excellent work ethics and gives his best in each and every innings. The local league also helps him keep an eye on the emerging talent in the state,’’ felt Arjun.
He also believes the team playing in the Buchi Babu Trophy has a number of players who can serve the state with distinction. “Tanmay Agarwal has been outstanding. Skipper Akshath Reddy is in good touch. Spinner Mehdi Hasan is good, a couple of guys are with India A and Duleep Trophy teams. Mohammed Siraj is a fine prospect. We have a good team. Hope we carry the momentum into the season,” added Arjun, who is likely to assist Arun Kumar when Ranji Trophy gets underway.
Brief scores: At CPT-IP: Kerala 380 bt Assam 140 (Subham Mandal 55, KM Asif 6/22). At IC-GN: Saurashtra 236 lost to Haryana 240/9 (Rohit Sharma 85, Vandit Jivrajani 3/42). At MRF-Pachaiyappa’s: Baroda 308/8 lost to Hyderabad 309/4 (Tanmay Agarwal 77, K Sumanth 82, K Rohit Rayudu 65 no). At SRMC: Mumbai 235 lost to UPCA 237/5 (Eklavya Dwivedi 81, Akshdeep Nath 81, Anjdeep Lad 3/64).
ashok.v@newindianexpress.com