Krishna Kumar — the coach who adds sheen and shine to J&K’s bowling unit

The Jammu and Kashmir bowlers, led by left-arm spinners Vanshaj Sharma, Abid Mushtaq and leggie Abdul Samad, beat the bat consistently and were proving a big puzzle for the Railways batters on day two of their first round Buchi Babu contest recently.

Just then, a voice rang out aloud from the J&K dugout: “Badhiya, Badhiya… yeh acha hai! Yeh upar maarega (good, good… this is nice! he’s going to play an aerial shot!). The words from Krishna Kumar, the side’s bowling coach, turned prophetic as wickets tumbled when the batters tried to cut loose.

In the longer format, captains rely heavily on their bowling unit, and by extension, the man who guides it. Under Krishna Kumar’s mentorship, the J&K bowlers have grown in strength and belief.

In an exclusive interaction with the The Hindu, Krishna Kumar spoke about his role and the team. “This is my third year with J&K. I knew that the region had a lot of talent and felt that it was my responsibility to help them develop.

“In my first year, I focused on skill development, ensuring that special attention was given to the technical aspects. For instance, Vanshaj — he set up the side’s win against Railways with a 10-wicket match haul — has been been working closely with us for correcting his action. I’m a player-centric coach and always back them. One of our bowlers, Aqib Nabi, was the highest wicket-taker among speedsters in India last season.

“Developing a cricketing culture like Mumbai or Karnataka takes time, but we’re on the right track. The administration is fully backing us,” said Krishna Kumar, a former Rajasthan seamer.

“Ajay Sharma sir has been phenomenal. A head coach is like the head of a family… he has given us the freedom and created a positive team environment.

“The boys are ready for the challenges this season. We’re aiming to play hard, competitive cricket and, most importantly, cross the final hurdle after missing it narrowly in the previous campaign,” said Krishna Kumar.