Abhiram ready to steer ship through transition

Former Karnataka all-rounder and seasoned administrator J Abhiram, who was formally named the chairman of the senior selection committee on Friday, is perhaps the right person to steer the State team that is going through a transition phase.

Having served in the same position during the Anil Kumble-Javagal Srinath regime in 2010-13, the 63-year-old said he was looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s not new to me and having served as an office-bearer of KSCA in various capacities over the years, I exactly know the challenge that lies in front of me and I can’t wait to get cracking,” Abhiram, who bagged 45 wickets in 46 first-class matches, told DH.

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“The biggest challenge facing Karnataka cricket now is transition. Talented batters like KV Siddharth and Rohan Kadam as well as Shreyas Gopal have taken NOCs (no-objection certificate) from KSCA to play for other states. So, positions in the batting line-up are up for grabs. The goal of the committee is to ensure the transition is smooth and Karnataka are able to regain domestic supremacy. Karnataka is rich in talent and our job is to hunt for them. In fact, a couple of young kids did well last season itself.”

When asked if he has shortlisted any names, especially batters, considering he’s been involved in Karnataka cricket for a long time, Abhiram said there are plenty of talented youngsters and his committee won’t hesitate to take a few calculated gambles.

“D Nischal, who has played in Ranji Trophy, is a good long-format player and I believe he should get a consistent run so that he can prove his potential. His technique is good and now is the time for him to score big in upcoming leagues and make a strong case for himself.

“I also feel Abhinav Manohar could be a good option in the middle-order. I understand he’s a dangerous white-ball batter but I don’t see why he can’t replicate that in red-ball cricket. Lots of attacking white-ball batters have done well in red-ball cricket. We’ll try him in the upcoming K Thimmappaiah memorial tournament and see how it goes.”

Abhiram reckoned Karnataka is strong on the pace-bowling front but the biggest cause of concern is the spin department. “Vyshak (Vijaykumar), V Koushik and Vidwath (Kaverappa) have been doing phenomenally well. They excelled even in the Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy which is a great sign for Karnataka considering all are new. Batting also looks sorted given the amount of talent we have at our disposal.

“But an area of concern is spin. Considering Shreyas is set to leave, the options aren’t massive. There’s (off-spinner) Shashikumar and (left-arm orthodox) Rohit Kumar AC but we need to see a lot more of them. Can they perform at the national level? (left-arm spinning all-rounder) Shubhang Hegde has already played Ranji....so we’ll see how it goes. We have a challenge at our hands there.”

Selection committees: Men: Senior and U-23: J Abhiram (chairman), KL Aswath, C Raghu, Kamal Tandon.

U-19 and U-16: J Abhiram (chairman), MV Prashanth, Udit B Patel, KM Aiyappa, Raghotham Navali.

Women: Senior: Sunitha Ananthakrishnan (chairperson), Aruna Reddy, Dr Nivedita Reshme, Muktha Algeri.

Junior Committee: Sharmila S (chairperson), Ranjini Kumar, Saba Siddique, Meena Kumari.