It would be unfair to say that Rajesh Kamath was desperately waiting to land the job of the Karnataka team’s cricket coach. It would, however, not be far from true to state that it was the assignment he was most looking forward to. Having been part of junior State teams for close to a decade, Kamath's name had been doing rounds for the coveted post for some time now. He came closest to clinching the job last season after Karthik Jeshwant's tenure was over, but when Venkatesh Prasad showed his interest, Kamath had no option but to bide his time.
"I had been hoping to get this job for a long time and now that it has come to me, I would like to leave a lasting impression," said Kamath, who appeared in three first-class matches for the State with modest success.
Kamath might have got his newest coaching assignment by default, with Prasad joining the Indian team as the bowling coach, but that doesn't belittle his credentials. The  Level III coaching certificate holder has worked as fielding coach at the National Cricket Academy, and has been an integral part of the Karnataka State Cricket Academy's activities.

Huge task
Having said that, Kamath has a huge task of maintaining the momentum the team had gained under skipper Yere Goud and Prasad. The six-time former Ranji champions, who seemed to have forgotten what it takes to get to the top, reached the semifinals last season for the first time in seven years, and emerged champions in the South Zone one-day tournament with an all-win record.
"I know it's not easy to coach a side like Karnataka. Expectations will be high after last year's performance," Kamath admitted. The 43-year-old, however, said he was under no pressure. "Obviously, the coach cannot go and play in the middle. As a coach, my job is to prepare the side in the best way possible."
Kamath feels the familiarity with the current crop of players will help him strike a fine working relationship. "When Venky took over, I was part of the pre-season preparations. I assisted in nets and fielding sessions. I know what has gone into last year's preparations. I was always in sync with Venky's methods, and my style of functioning won’t be much different. Probably I can introduce a few more things, be it in fielding or training sessions," he elaborated.

Bowling woes
Kamath is aware that the fast bowling department is running on a ventilator. "I agree we only have Vinay Kumar, who is probably one of the best pacemen in the country. Obviously, we have no one in the same class as Srinath and Prasad, Dodda Ganesh or David Johnson. There is no doubt (NC) Aiyappa's injury was a big blow to us, but we do have youngsters like Dhananjaya, Aravind and Mohd Arif, who are very promising. They are still raw, but we have to invest in them," he explained.

While fast bowlers are hard to come by, Karnataka have four wicketkeeper-batsmen fighting for a place in the eleven. Kamath maintains that Thilak Naidu, their second highest run-getter last season, will be the first choice. Incidentally, Naidu was surprisingly left out of the Australia-bound squad for the Emerging Players' tournament next month.

Problem of plenty
"We want to try out some youngsters as a back-up for Naidu," reasoned Kamath. "I don't know if it is fortunate or unfortunate that we have three-four talented wicket-keepers going at the same time, but it all depends upon how they utilise the opportunities given to them," he added.   
  
Kamath's not-so-successful career as a player might be held against him by those who question his credentials as coach of a high-profile side. It is no secret that some of the best coaches around the world have had little success as players, but even so, Kamath has a point to prove.