Venkatramana to replace Senthilnathan as Tamil Nadu white-ball coach

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) announced that M. Venkatramana will replace M. Senthilnathan as coach for the senior men’s team for the upcoming limited-overs competitions — Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (one-dayers).

The move comes after TN’s disastrous start to its Ranji Trophy campaign. It has only four points in four rounds and its chances of progressing to the knockouts are bleak.

However, the TNCA has opted to stick with Senthilnathan for the final two Ranji fixtures when the premier domestic red-ball tournament resumes in January 2026 after the ongoing fifth round.

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On the reason for the change, a senior TNCA official said: “Since the demands of the two formats are completely different, the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) wanted to try a new approach. At the same time, we respect Senthilnathan’s contribution and want him to help develop the players for the longer format.” In the Ranji Trophy so far, TN has lost to Jharkhand and Andhra, and conceded the first-innings lead to defending champion Vidarbha. Only against Nagaland did the team manage to take the first-innings honours.

There have been murmurs that not all is well in the dressing room. Middle-order batter C. Andre Siddarth’s comments after scoring a century in the current game against Uttar Pradesh in Coimbatore, when he expressed displeasure about Senthilnathan’s decision to demote him in the order, reflected the less-than-ideal situation.

Venkatramana had coached TN for two seasons (2021-22 to 2023-24). During his tenure, the State won the SMAT competition (2021-22) for the third time.

That season, it also reached the final of the Hazare Trophy but lost to Himachal Pradesh, missing an opportunity to do the white-ball double.