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Fortune hunter
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Jeshwanth has the difficult task of re-building Karnataka cricket
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— Photo: K. Gopinathan
KARTHIK JESHWANTH refuses to brag. It is understandable. The State's new cricket coach can indeed bask in the afterglow of his young team's new-found success in the season's openers — champions in the MRF Trophy and semi-finalists in the Moin-Ud-Dowlah tournament at Hyderabad. However, a modest Jeshwanth would rather stay grounded as the State probables prepare for tough jousts in the Ranji Trophy Elite Division's Group A that features heavyweights Mumbai, Railways, Delhi, and Bengal, besides Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.
Good start
"Yes the start is good. We have done extremely well, but for a weak performance recently against MRF that was powered by Zaheer Khan. But it is a long season ahead and we are in a tough group in the Ranji Trophy and we need to stay focussed. Our team has not done well in the past few seasons and we are trying to comeback. Yes, may be the confidence was low for sometime, but after winning the MRF Trophy, we are progressing well," Jeshwanth said. The 39-year old former State captain and all-rounder, fondly called Jessie in his friends' circle, does have an onerous task on hand. The State Ranji team after dominating the Ranji Trophy in the 90s has fallen by the wayside and a push to the Plate Division was indeed a blow to Karnataka's cricketing pride. And Jeshwanth is aware that a rapid turn-around in fortune is something tough to expect. "I have just taken over as coach and I would rather not say we are aiming at winning the Ranji Trophy. Yes, that is one of the aims, but, primarily, I want to breed a good team, make the players help one another and if within a few years, we have four to five players knocking on the Indian team's door, and we are also able to win the Ranji Trophy, then I have done my job," Jeshwanth said.
Revival signs
It is early days for the coach, and yet he is happy with the nascent signs of revival he has seen in his wards. "I was very impressed with their fielding standards both in the MRF Trophy as well as in the Moin-Ud-Dowlah Trophy tournament. It was a young team and understandably their fielding was effective and efficient. As for the Ranji Trophy, we will have a team with the right mix of youth and experience. Players such as Vijay Bharadwaj, Dodda Ganesh, and Sunil Joshi have tremendous experience and have done well for us. Vijay should come around in his batting and that will boost our scores. We have a good set of batsmen, and in bowling too we have experienced bowlers backed by youngsters such as Vinay Kumar and N.C. Aiyappa. Believe me, this team has some promising young talent and I just hope they make the right progress," Jeshwanth said.
It is a fresh season and with a new coach with fresh ideas at the helm, Karnataka can afford to hope for the best. But Jeshwanth cautions: "I ask the fans to be patient with our team. We will give our best but we are trying to comeback and I am sure we will get the right results but do give some time for the team to settle down."
Hopefully, the State will regain its lost glory in the coming months.
K.C. VIJAYA KUMAR
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