KOCHI: Former India pacer Tinu Yohannan has been tasked with the rebuilding process of Kerala cricket. He was appointed new head coach of the senior state team on Monday. Having worked as the bowling coach of Kerala in the past, Yohannan replaces Australian Dav Whatmore, who departed after three seasons.
While many names were doing the rounds to replace the World Cup winning coach, the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) decided to promote someone from the state. The decision was made at a special general body meeting of KCA, which was held online.
Kerala got relegated from the Elite division of Ranji Trophy last season and Yohannan said that his first goal is to get the team back there. He feels his familiarity with the squad and the system will give him an advantage.
"Promotion back to the Elite is one of our primary goals, but we'll take a game by game approach. The idea is to keep things as simple as possible because it will be a new season. I know that the previous season was not that great, but we can learn from mistakes. It's definitely a big opportunity and a challenge. Also, it's a privilege to be a part of the team that I played for during my cricketing days. Apart from that, I served this team as a bowling coach for four years a few seasons back. Coming back into that unit as the head coach, I take it as a big honour. Knowing the boys and being with them previously is helpful," said Yohannan.
Lately, the 41-year-old has been serving as Director of KCA's High Performance Centre but conceded that he might not be able to carry on with both assignments simultaneously.
"Right now, there is not a lot of clarity on how we are going to go about it. We need to take a decision on that but with the responsibility of the senior team right now, we need to figure out a way of managing things at HPC," said Yohannan.
He also said that giving an opportunity to young players is something on the agenda.
"We aim at bringing in more youngsters into the scene. The only criteria for them will be performance. Opportunities will always be there," said Yohannan.
During the meeting, the KCA decided to wait for the state government's directives before the resumption of activities including the HPC and the various district cricket leagues which were put on hold because of the lockdown. Once the leagues are concluded, elections in five district cricket associations (Pathanamthitta, Palakkad, Kasargod, Malappuram and Kozhikode) will be conducted.