Chennai
After a blistering season with the ‘Garden city’ franchise, the Arjuna awardee has decided to move on to greener pastures. Ramesh has agreed to join Bengal Warriors for the seventh edition of the PKL, replacing Jagdish Kumble at the helm.
“I was approached by three other franchises in the last few months. I had been with the Bengal camp in Season 2 and I know the management well. That was one of the reasons why I took this role,” Ramesh told DT Next through a telephonic conversation.
Since the expansion of the league, very few chiefs have steered their teams to the ‘Super Play-offs’ in both the editions. Ramesh is one among them, having taken Puneri Paltan (2017) and Bengaluru (2018-19) to at least the final six.
On what prompted him to shift his allegiance after a title-winning campaign, he explained, “I had signed a one-season contract with Bulls in 2018. The owner was ambitious to win the trophy and we achieved our objective (this January). Since the conclusion of PKL 6, no one from the Bengaluru management has been in contact with me.”
With the departure of the two-time Asian Games gold medallist, Bulls has lost a man who engineered the historic triumph. Bengaluru’s loss has turned out to be Bengal’s gain. “Had someone from Bulls spoken to me and asked about my plans, I would have stayed. We have the Season 7 auction on April 8 and 9 (in Mumbai), time was running out. I got an opportunity to be the coach of the Bengal franchise and hence I penned a deal,” stated Ramesh.
One of the trends in PKL 6 was teams having two coaches each. Asked if he will have someone to help him during his tenure, he replied, “I told the franchise to rope in an assistant coach. The members felt that there would be difference of opinion, if someone is appointed as my deputy. Now, they have given me the full freedom to select the players I want.”
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