CHENNAI: For Tamil Nadu, it has been a disappointing outing in the Ranji Trophy so far. They have just seven points from four games and their chances of qualifying for the next stage look difficult. It has been the case of so near yet so far for Tamil Nadu in a couple games. Their inability to get vital breakthroughs in crucial junctures has hampered their progress as well.
R Ashwin, who is passionate about Tamil Nadu cricket, feels that all is not lost, but believes that a lot of work needs to be done in red-ball cricket. “Let me be brutally honest with respect to Tamil Nadu, I think our white-ball cricket due to TNPL saw a bit of resurgence. We have a few options but I think there are lots of areas where our cricket (red-ball) needs to improve upon,” Ashwin told TNIE.
The ace all-rounder feels that one has to breed youngsters and have a larger pool of players to choose from as far as red-ball cricket goes. “We need to have a larger sample size of players. Red-ball cricket (in TN) is way behind the mark. And you can’t straight away go and win the Ranji, it is very tough. For the last seven, eight years we’ve had the same set of players playing red-ball cricket and that is why, we’ve not qualified (knock-outs regularly). I think it’s time we’ll seriously took a look at it,” said Ashwin.
Ashwin, who makes it a point to mentor youngsters at his Gen-Next Academy, is keen to mentor the Tamil Nadu team and facilitate the smooth transition. “Yeah, I mean I’m very keen on playing a part and trying to make the transition possible. Because at this stage of my career I don’t want to be doing the role of a youngster. I want to be doing the role of a guide, answering their questions and helping them to set on the right path. I’m looking, I actually believe that next year I will play for Tamil Nadu and do my best for the team,” said the 36-year-old.
The main problem for Tamil Nadu this season has been, after packing off the top-order batters, allowing the No 6 or 7 to score runs. “Even in international cricket, me and Kuldeep Yadav have had a partnership against Bangladesh. These things happened because of batting quality, the standard of batting and awareness has gotten a lot better. So, you can’t just blame that. I think, overall, if their number sevens and eights are making runs, we should also do the same. Having said that, I definitely believe there needs to be an attitudinal shift towards it (mind set),” signed off Ashwin.