Stability will be the new committee’s guiding mantra: Sunil

Sunil Subramaniam, the newly appointed chairman of selectors for the Tamil Nadu senior men and under-23 teams, has stressed that stability will be the guiding mantra for the new committee.

“The first thing I want to focus on is stability. We need to identify players and give them clear roles and a long rope. We are ready to cop any blame if the results don’t go our way, but I need to give them stability,” said Sunil in a chat with The Hindu on Thursday.

The former left-arm spinner was previously part of the TNCA Academy as head coach. He has a huge task in guiding the team through a transition phase at the senior level.

“My value addition at this point in transition for Tamil Nadu cricket will be far more valuable in picking the next group of guys. I have already done my homework and have an idea of what the core group could look like. Along with my committee, we will now work to get the under-23 and senior teams ready,” explained Sunil, who has also been with the Indian team as an administrative manager between 2017 and 2019.

“For example, there are about eight or nine players who won’t be eligible for under-23 selection next year. So we also need to work closely with the under-19 committee to handle the supply chain from junior cricket,” he said.

The 59-year-old has also worked with the junior teams at the TNCA Academy in recent times. He identified pacers D. Deepesh and R.S. Ambrish, who were both part of the Indian team which won the ICC u-19 World Cup earlier this year, alongside fast bowler R.D. Pranav Ragavendra as some of the players who have the potential.

Tamil Nadu had a miserable season last year, failing to qualify for the knockouts in any of the three premier domestic tournaments.

“I think our set-up in TN is good. We couldn’t have won both the under-23 titles last year and the under-19 the year before, and reached the semifinals last year, if the set-up was poor. There is enough talent to do well. We have to guide these players to keep doing what they have done to get so far,” added Sunil.