Tinu Yohannan appointed Kerala’s head coach, confirms KCA
Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) confirmed, on Monday, that they have appointed former Indian pacer Tinu Yohannan as the head coach of the Kerala state team for the upcoming domestic season. The pacer’s name was recommended by the state’s cricket advisory committee from a bunch of five names.
On February 8, 2020, Kerala were relegated from Ranji Trophy’s Division A to C, after a string of poor performances saw them finish in the bottom half of their group. On top of that news, they were also handed a massive blow when coach Dav Whatmore decided to walk away from the job of handling the state team. Four months on, KCA have now announced that Tinu Yohannan will replace Whatmore at the helm for the upcoming 2020-21 season for the southern side.
The pacer comes with the experience of being the first player from the State to have represented the national team before Sreesanth followed a similar path to glory. In a meeting on Monday, the association accepted Tinu Yohannan’s recommendation from the state’s cricket advisory committee to be the side's head coach.
"It is a huge honour as well as a challenge. I am not new to the job. I have been associated with the team as a bowling coach and assistant coach for several years. It feels great when you are made coach of a team for which you have played for 12 years,'' said Tinu, reported Sportstar
Furthermore, the meeting also entrusted the KCA office-bearers to take a wise decision when it comes to appointing the coach for the junior team in the coming days. Just prior to his selection, the pacer was serving as the director of Kerala Cricket Association's (KCA) High-Performance Centre in Alappuzha.
"I know the expectations will be high especially after the poor performance last season. It is a fresh challenge but an opportunity for me. I think, since I have known all the players for many years, my job will be a little easier. I have played with senior players like Rohan Prem and Sachin Baby and against Robin Uthappa. So I don't think I will have any problem dealing with them,'' he added.