TN coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar pleased with home-away format

Barring a last-minute change of mind from Tamil Nadu coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar, opener Abhinav Mukund can rest assured he will stride out in the lung-opener against Andhra on October 6 as the captain of Tamil Nadu. The soontobegin Ranji season will once again see the Tamil Nadu team launch a renewed bid to end the morethanthree-decades wait to be crowned the domestic champions.

After taking recourse to usual platitudes that it’s too early to talk about captaincy, it didn’t take long for Kanitkar to give ringing endorsement of Abhinav’s leadership credentials in a chat with this paper. “If he (Abhinav) is available, he will be our first choice captain. He did exceedingly well last season and there is no reason to do a rethink on the issue. That said, it comes down to his availability as he was picked for the Sri Lanka Tests,” said the 42-year-old. Kanitkar, though, was not ready to take heart from his team’s semi-final appearance last season, and has laid out plans to improve on that showing.

“I wasn’t satisfied with where we ended up in the previous season. However, what impressed me was the attitude of the youngsters who got better as the season progressed. From what I’ve seen last year, this team doesn’t lack in any aspect to finish where we want,” opined the former Rajasthan captain.

Kanitkar was pleased with the home-and-away format being restored.

“The neutral venue rule drew flak from many quarters.

The decision to revert to the usual style will benefit most teams and it will especially suit our spinners to come into their own and influence the outcome,” added the former India player.

Regarding the team composition, the coach said there are still some slots waiting to be filled and players who prove themselves in the Buchi Babu tournament will be considered.

“The team doesn’t have a settled look yet. I kept tabs on those who performed creditably in the second season of TNPL. Spinners such as R Sai Kishore will be on the selectors radar. Consistency will be rewarded and outstanding performers in Buchi Babu will get a look-in,” remarked Kanitkar.

Kanitkar also confirmed that L Balaji will continue in his capacity as the bowling coach.