Tamil Nadu’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) will meet over the next few days and name the State coach for the coming two seasons.
The panel, comprising S. Suresh (Chairman), U.R. Radhakrishnan and Sudha Shah, have quite a job on hand as the issue is a complex one.
The coach for the last two seasons - his contract has now run its course - former Tamil Nadu all-rounder D. Vasu, to be fair to him, hasn’t done badly at all.
With him as coach, the team, following a disastrous season, reached the final of both the Vijay Hazare one-day tournament and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 competition in 2019-20.
And in 2020-21, the side went on to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament in an emphatic fashion.
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Owing to Covid restrictions, Ranji Trophy could not be held last season. The indications are Vasu wants to continue in the job. And he has the results to back him.
It can be argued that Vasu has delivered. Then again, the issue has several layers.
Dinesh Karthik has been an influential skipper for Tamil Nadu, carrying the seniors with him, encouraging the younger bunch, turning around Tamil Nadu’s fortunes and helping the State team reclaim its status as a heavyweight in the domestic circuit.
Now, it is common knowledge that the relations between Vasu and Karthik are strained in nature. The communication between them on key issues is open to question.
In fact, when this writer queried Karthik on Tamil Nadu’s success in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he was quick to highlight assistant coach R. Prasanna’s inputs and contribution.
Now, Prasanna is another name for the top job and has the backing of the skipper Karthik too, as several others in the team, has played the game with Prasanna who comprehends the demands of modern-day cricket having represented the State till 2015.
When the CAC meets to select the coach, the choice might be narrow but not easy in nature.
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