Youngsters have led Karnataka’s renaissance – Arunkumar

Fourteen years ago, Robin Uthappa, a teenage batsman who came with the reputation of being Karnataka’s batting future, replaced J Arunkumar in the state side before the start of the domestic season. Arunkumar, a senior player and part of two Ranji Trophy-winning sides in 1995-96, 1997-98 and 1998-99, was aggrieved and turned professional, playing for Assam and Goa before retiring in 2008. Four years later, when he took on a coaching role with Karnataka, Arunkumar found himself in the same position as the selectors were in 2002-03, having to take the “brave call” of dropping seniors.

This decision, Arunkumar believes, has led to the renaissance of Karnataka cricket, taking them from an ‘almost there’ side to back-to-back Ranji Trophy titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15. It is a process he is prepared to stick to as Karnataka look to reclaim the title they lost in 2015-16. They have begun promisingly this season, with a win and a draw from two matches.

“It was tough, but [there were] very conscious decisions to replace senior players like KB Pawan, Ganesh Satish and a few others,” Arunkumar, who is now head coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “That call was a must then because the team management was mindful of the bigger picture. By that I mean, by 26-27 if a cricketer wasn’t playing for India A at least, chances of the national cap were remote. We didn’t want a situation where a player is just happy playing state cricket and then going away. It was a bold decision we took when asked to present a roadmap for the state team, one that has worked wonderfully so far.”

Arunkumar said the decision to part with senior players put tremendous pressure on the youngsters, with some of them scrutinised on a match-by-match basis. …

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