Will ensure no player takes his place for granted, says M Senthilnathan
M Senthilnathan, who was recently appointed the chairman of selectors for Tamil Nadu, has stated that there will be no room for complacency amongst the players and that everyone will be under pressure to perform. He also stated that state caps will have to be 'earned' and won't be awarded at will.
The 2019 edition of the Vijay Hazare has been a stop-start tournament from majority of the teams thanks to the rain playing spoilsport, but one of the very few teams who have had all their matches finish uninterrupted is Tamil Nadu. And the TN side has ensured that they've made most of the favourable weather conditions by winning all three of their matches and starting the competition on a winning note.
However, newly appointed chairman of selectors M Senthilnathan believes that the side still lags behind in many aspects - both on and off the field - and is keen on setting things straight. Senthilnathan has stated that each and every player will be observed keenly and that there will be no room for complacency, while also adding that players at the same time will be given extended runs to seal a place in the team.
“We have a good talent pool but where we have been lacking is the discipline both on and off the field," Senthilnathan told Sportstar.
"What we are going to do is to ensure no player takes his place for granted. At the same time, we will give enough chances if we see someone as talented and don't want to just throw away,” he added.
With the usual suspects - Dinesh Karthik, Abhinav Mukund, Vijay Shankar - once again dragging the team towards victory day in and day out, the youngsters who have broken through over the course of the last few years have been few and far between. Senthilnathan has admitted that it's an area of concern for the team moving forward and is in desperate need of seeing youngsters outshine the seasoned veterans.
“Yes, I think feeding pool is getting lesser. We have to accept the truth. We are lacking in that. People are working on that and I wouldn’t like to comment since I have not been involved in that. But we are looking for more youngsters to push seniors,” he said.
Senthilnathan, who is also the chief coach at the MRF Pace Foundation, talked up the abundance of pace bowling talent available at their disposal but insisted that every player would have to earn their cap and would need to make their way through the state levels. He also asserted that sustainment of consistency was the quality that he's looking for, a quality that is key to succeeding in modern-day cricket.
“Yes, fast bowling is an area we are focussing on and we have a few promising ones like Trilok Nath and D. Rahul. Then, there is G. Periyasamy, who was the find of the TNPL, and could be considered for T20s.
"At the same time the State cap will have to be earned and it won’t be just awarded. We will see their performances in u-19 and u-23 levels. We are not here to try and see if players belong because reaching there is one thing but sustaining is far more important,” he signed off.
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