The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Badrinath to lead TN Ranji team

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 31, 2005

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Badrinath to lead TN Ranji team

Special Correspondent

Chennai: S. Badrinath has replaced Hemang Badani as the captain of the

Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy team. The State side, in the middle of a very ordinary season, takes on Bengal in Kolkata from January 3 in a crucial Elite `A' sixth round clash.

Explaining the choice of Badrinath as skipper, chairman of the State selection panel V.B. Chandrasekar said, "We felt the pressure of captaincy was affecting Badani's batting and the side needs him in prime form.

"We had a chat with him about it. We were also looking at a young, committed player, who could hold the job for the next four years and Badrinath fitted the bill. But he is taking over during difficult times. That is also the challenge before him. I am sure the seniors will be supportive of him. The whole team has to think positive at this point of time."

Tamil Nadu suffered nine-wickets defeats in its last two encounters, against Maharashtra in Nasik and Mumbai in Mumbai. With five points from as many matches, the State is just a point above the bottom placed Railways and Maharashtra.

If Tamil Nadu, that was twice Ranji Trophy runner-up in the last three years, does not lift its game against Bengal (away) and Delhi (at home), it faces the prospect of being relegated to the Plate group. Both Bengal and Delhi are competitive sides.

There are three changes in the Tamil Nadu squad from the one picked for the game in Mumbai. Batsman R. Satish replaces Hemant Kumar and pace bowler V. Yo Mahesh comes in for D. Tamil Kumaran. With fitness concerns keeping paceman G. Vignesh out, M.R. Shrinivas receives a look-in.

The squad: S. Badrinath (captain), Hemang Badani, S. Sriram, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, R. Satish, Aashish Kapoor, K. Shree Vasudeva Das, K. Dinesh Kaarthick, V.Yo. Mahesh, Anirudha Srikkanth, R. Ram Kumar, R. Jesuraj, R. Naresh, M.R. Shrinivas, & S. Sharath. Coach: B. Arun; Manager: R.I. Palani; Physio: T. Anbazhagan; Physical Trainer: S. Basu.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport