CHENNAI: When the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) began the preparation for the Ranji Trophy well in advance by organising the All-India Buchi Babu tournament, little did they know that their hopes of making the knockouts would come to an end only after the fifth game. Yet another season where their long-awaited Ranji dream failed to materialise.
It all started with a disappointing Buchi Babu campaign where lack of self-belief and not being able to field the best XI cost them. It was where the newly-appointed head coach M Senthilnathan, who will continue as red-ball coach while M Venkataramana takes over the white-ball team, had a look at the players and made plans for the upcoming season. So when the Ranji Trophy came along, one expected the hosts to get off to a decent start against Jharkhand, but that was not to be. Ishan Kishan scored a magnificent century to inflict an innings defeat and that was just the beginning. Although it was clear that they would not have the services of B Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, with R Sai Kishore also missing out, the rest did not rise to the occasion. The season began with B Sachin and N Jagadeesan as the new opening pair. Pradosh Ranjan Paul who used to bat lower down the order was promoted to No 3 followed by C Andre Siddarth. But the top six batters and No 7 Shahrukh Khan failed not just against Jharkhand but also versus Nagaland in the next game.
When every other team sealed a win against the North East team, TN fell flat with the ball despite centuries from Vimal Khumar and Pradosh. They ended up walking away with a draw. They went on to lose two more games and drew against Uttar Pradesh, where Rinku Singh killed their hopes of making the knockouts. Through the season, the inability to take timely wickets cost them dearly. S Ajith Ram was out of action and spinners DT Chandrasekar and J Hemchudeshan could not rise to the occasion. The problem for Tamil Nadu bowlers has been about the mind set more than skill. The problem is at the Senior Division league where teams either play on flattest pitches or rank turners with spinners taking wickets for fun. Often teams used to bat for one and a half days and play out a dull draw. And when they are desperate for a win, they produce rank turners to get the desired result.
One cannot overnight change the bowling style and start dictating terms at the First class level. Tamil Nadu fast bowlers have grown bowling on placid tracks in the TNCA league, so when they play away from home and when the wickets have something to offer for seamers they are not able to grab it with both hands. And once the ball becomes old, they struggle to contain or give breakthroughs. The batting group has not clicked as a unit. The youngsters have been good in patches but not consistent across the five rounds.
With the likes of Vijay Shankar and B Aparajith moving to Tripura and Kerala, respectively, the rest have not stepped up. Batting at the top level is all about confidence and when the team is not doing well, the performance dips due lack of self belief. A good example is the game against Vidarbha where they were in a good position overnight and the next day the batting collapsed. In the end, it was yet another disappointing end for a team that is still searching for their third Ranji title.
