CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief coach D Vasu is confident of his boys doing well in the Super League stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 will meet Baroda in Surat on November 21 in their first match. They topped Group B with 20 points by winning five of six games.
“Pleased with the way the team performed. It was teamwork that led to this creditable show. All the players chipped in. We hope to carry the momentum,” said Vasu. One of the reasons for Tamil Nadu’s good show was the availability of all senior players, barring R Ashwin.
“This team has a good mixture of experience and youth. All the senior players with international experience played with commitment and guided the youngsters in the side. This helped the team gel and play as a unit,’’ felt the former all-rounder.
Tamil Nadu’s depth in batting and variety in attack has been a major reason for the success so far. “The boys easily adapted from 50-over cricket to T20s. When you have a player of the calibre of M Vijay batting at the top of the order, it helps. Almost all the guys in the team can bat. Importantly, the top-order guys can bat at any position and this came in handy in crucial games. Our attack had a lot of variety. Many teams found it difficult to play the left-right combo of T Natarajan and G Periyaswamy. Our spinners — be it Sai Kishore, Murugan Ashwin or Washington Sundar — were spot on. This bunch of bowlers have a lot of experience playing in the IPL and TNPL. They could easily adapt to any situation and any opponent,’’ complimented the coach.
Vijay is out of the Super League and knock-out phase of the tournament due to an ankle injury and has been replaced by left-arm spinner M Siddharth. “Losing Vijay is a big loss for us. We will miss a player of his experience and calibre at the top of the order. The team will have to look for an attacking and solid batsman at the top. Hari Nishaanth or Washington could fill in that slot,’’ said the 51-year old.
Many former players, who have been following Tamil Nadu cricket, are baffled why Vijay Shankar was not used and under-bowled in many games. “It’s the captain’s call. As coach, my job is to work with the players, improve their skills and prepare them for the game ahead. We have eight players who can bowl. So someone will have to be under-bowled,” Vasu said.
Before the tournament, many doubted whether Periyaswamy would be able to adapt from TNPL to the national level. “He has been able to bowl at this level without fear. He looked good in a couple of games. With experience, he will be more effective,’’ said Vasu.