Tamil Nadu hasn’t had the ideal start for its Ranji Trophy campaign - it lost against Gujarat in the opener, then didn’t get to play much versus Tripura due to unsuitable weather.
That’s why skipper Sai Kishore feels that it’s “time to strike gold” now. He’s supremely confident of assuming the responsibility of winning the next two matches for Tamil Nadu on his own.
“In the next two games, we have to strike gold. That’s my mindset. I’m very confident on myself, on the team. I take it all on myself, have always been someone who takes up responsibility for winning games. So, I wanna win the next two games, not as a captain, but on my own! If people come with me (on that winning pursuit), it would be great. But on my own, I will do it, for sure!” he said on the eve of Tamil Nadu’s third-round Ranji Trophy match versus Railways here on Thursday.
Tamil Nadu coach Sulakshan Kulkarni spoke about the positives from the first two matches. “Definitely, the fightback. In the first match against Gujarat, it was the fightback when we were on 119 for eight. From there, M. Mohammed and Sandy (Sandeep Warrier) put on a 116-run partnership and we got a 14-run lead. So, at least, we showed that fightback attitude. That was very encouraging.
“Last match (vs. Tripura), it was two batters - Vijay Shankar and Baba Indrajith. I had mentioned seniors should take the responsibility. So, yes, they took the responsibility and that will help us to go forward.”
Both the captain and the coach concurred that pacer Kuldeep Sen is a welcome addition to the squad, but weren’t sure if he’ll feature versus Railways.
“Kuldeep is a fantastic bowler. How much of help it’ll be in Coimbatore, is a tough question. But he is someone who can bowl around 140 kph consistently, and it’s a rare thing in domestic cricket. So, fantastic addition as far as Kuldeep is concerned,” said Sai Kishore.
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He felt that the Coimbatore pitch typically “gets slightly slower as the match progresses.”
The coach said: “It’s a welcome addition. Because, the opposition also sees that - a player like Kuldeep, who can bowl at 140-145 kph. But we’ll consider all the points - the wicket, the nature, the form, and take the decision.”
He added that Tamil Nadu has sufficient pace-bowling battery to last the ‘Ranji Marathon.’
“Ranji Trophy is all about marathon. First, you cross that league phase, then the knockout phase, so it’s a long duration. And we should have that ammunition of at least 4-5 fast bowlers. Then you will start rotating - workload management, you have to take of injuries. We have to consider all those things.
“That’s why, we have been working for the last nine months to get that bench strength, and luckily, yes, we got some. We definitely have six bowlers in our armoury, and that I think is sufficient for this season. And we’ll definitely try to develop another two, so that eight (bowlers) means you can survive for the next two years!”
The captain and the coach said that all-rounder Washington Sundar isn’t available for the match beginning on Friday at the SNR College cricket ground.
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