Karnataka’s twin red-ball success in the season portends a bright future
The senior side sees as many as seven debutants in the 202324 Ranji Trophy, with five of them from the agegroup squads; coach Goud says he knew the team had the potential to win
Karnataka hasn’t won the Ranji Trophy in nearly a decade. But the twin redball titles won by the State’s colts this year are proof enough that the foundation is intact and benefits could soon be reaped at the senior level.
In January, Karnataka secured its maiden Cooch Behar (U19) Trophy, and on Wednesday, clinched the Col. C.K. Nayudu (U23) Trophy, also for the first time.
“It is personally very satisfying,” said coach Yere Goud. “The moment the team was given to me, I knew that they had the potential to win.
“I knew most of the boys since they were in the 1619 age group. That helped in understanding them because I came in the middle of the season. A lot of credit should go to the boys. They were desperate to win and you saw the result.”
In a sense, the success was an emphatic vindication of the players’ talent, which the selectors recognised even before the silverware was annexed.
The Karnataka senior side saw as many as seven debutants in the 202324 Ranji Trophy, with five of them — K. Shashikumar (21), Rohit Kumar (23), Dheeraj Gowda (17), K.V. Aneesh (22) and Hardik Raj (18) — from the agegroup squads.
Looking ahead
Karnataka also moved away from its senior spinners like K. Gowtham and J. Suchith. The inexperience showed, but chairman of selectors J. Abhiram revealed the thinking behind the calls.
“Even with the seniors, we lost the Vijay Hazare Trophy,” Abhiram pointed out. “If you want to look ahead to the next six or seven years, we have to groom these young boys and instil some confidence.
“Hardik was a big revelation in Ranji. K.V. Aneesh (922 runs in CK Nayudu) has done very well and I am sure he will contribute a lot in Ranji. R. Smaran (829 runs in CK Nayudu) is ready. So it is looking good.”