Bharath Ramaraj in Bengaluru
There are those old old Dinah Maria Craik lines that go: “Autumn to winter, winter into spring, spring into summer, summer into fall – so rolls the changing years, and so we change.” Somewhere this quote applies to the present Karnataka Ranji Trophy side. Due to a variety of reasons, the think tank have had to usher in young players this season.
So, what does Yere Goud, in his second stint as head coach, say about the state’s rebuilding phase? “See, S Sharath was the wicketkeeper last season, he has moved out,” he told RevSportz. “S Sujay has taken his place. Samarth has also left, Devdutt (Padikkal) has gone for the India A tour, so there is an opportunity for some of the batters. Since we were in a situation where we needed quick runs in a rain-curtailed game, we brought in Abhinav Manohar. Yes, it is a transition phase. But everybody is mature enough, and we are not complaining about it.”
To add to Karnataka’s woes, Prasidh Krishna is also with the India squad Down Under. Meanwhile, the experienced pacer Vidwath Kaverappa has been laid low by an injury, while Vijaykumar Vyshak is with the Indian set-up for the T20I series against South Africa. Even in the ongoing Ranji Trophy game versus Bengal, Nikin Jose suffered a cut on his forehead while fielding and was replaced by a concussion substitute.
There is one more external factor that has acted as a hurdle, the weather, resulting in truncated games versus Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. Karnataka bounced back with a convincing victory over Bihar and currently sit third in their group. “There have been many challenges this season,” said Goud. “One is in terms of the weather, the second is injuries.
“Vidwath (Kaverappa) is injured. But whatever we have played this season, there is a sense of positivity in terms of how the team is progressing. Probably from here on, every game is a knockout game for us. We have to do well in the remaining four games if we have to qualify for the semi-finals.”
Goud also explained in brief about Kaverappa’s injury. “He has had a shin injury,” he said. “He is with the National Cricket Academy, they are looking after him. Once we get the clearance, we will see.”
Over the last decade, history has also not been kind to Karnataka as far as India’s premier first-class competition is concerned. The state has qualified for either the quarterfinals or semi-finals seven times since winning the Ranji Trophy in 2014-15, but they haven’t been able to climb a few more steps of the ladder in order to taste success.
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Goud, who was previously at the helm of affairs from 2018 to 2022, observed, “See, qualifying is also not easy, every team is looking to win the Ranji Trophy. We have come to the knockouts almost every season. When I was the coach (earlier), we probably lost in the semifinals twice.
“Qualifying from the group is always tough. A lot of changes have happened in the last 10 years in terms of the batting unit, a new set of bowlers. The first priority is to qualify. Moving forward, we will see what best we can do this season.”
On the brighter side, Karnataka’s age-group teams have been doing well. One of those junior sides – Karnataka Under-23s – emerged triumphant in the CK Nayudu Trophy under the tutelage of Goud. Even in the Maharaja T20 Trophy this year, we witnessed Karnataka’s strength in depth in the junior ranks. “A lot of credit has to go to the boys, the way they performed,” said Goud. “A lot of players from Under-23 have moved in – Aneesh has come into the side as has Smaran and Yashovardhan.
“The Under-19s have won the Cooch Behar trophy, which is also a very good achievement. Karnataka had never won the Under-19 trophy before. That shows the strength of junior cricket. We have a lot of junior cricketers who in 1 or 2 years would (make the) transition to the senior team. That is a good sign for Karnataka.”
Goud, who played for Railways and Karnataka, had an illustrious first-class career. During his time, he played a major role in powering Railways to a couple of Ranji Trophy titles (2001-02 and 2004-05), alongside other domestic tournaments. He was renowned for his ability to lift his game under pressure. Who can forget his 190 out of a total of 356 against Uttar Pradesh in the 2001-02 Ranji Trophy or his 138 in the 2004-05 Ranji final, where he shepherded the tail?
When Goud hung up his boots in 2012, Javagal Srinath called him the “Rahul Dravid of the Railways team,” while Anil Kumble remembered an anecdote from the time he was Karnataka’s skipper. “Even as captain, he would stand at silly point and short leg, though many people have a temptation to put a junior cricketer in that position,” said Kumble.
In Goud, Karnataka have a mentor who has the quality to chisel out the right path for youngsters, and lay the foundation for the state to hoist the coveted Ranji Trophy again in the near future.
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