JOIN USA day after he was surprisingly removed from the post of Karnataka State senior cricket team’s head coach, P V Shashikanth expressed shock over the Karnataka State Cricket Association’s decision.
“It came as a rude shock. We won the Vijay Hazare Trophy and got to the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy. We topped the South Zone league in the T20s. Many of the players are in the reckoning for India A and India senior teams.
“What more can we do? You only sack people when they do terribly. We felt we had done a good job. We were actually preparing for the next season but then we got this news,” Shashikanth said.
Shashikanth felt he, along with assistant G K Anil Kumar, deserved an explanation. “We got no reason from them (KSCA office bearers). They just said ‘we are making changes.’ What for? Has the team done badly? We are unable to figure out. At least they should have discussed with us before taking a call” he said.
Memorable seasons
The 52-year-old pointed out that a couple of players had memorable seasons.
“Look at the performances of individuals, players like Samarth (R) and Mayank (Agarwal) were not playing to their full potential earlier but they did exceedingly well. It’s all about getting the team together. For three years there was no silverware. We had won a trophy and our graph was going up.”
Shashikanth admitted that it was better for him to concentrate on his next job soon. “We are moving on. We can’t brood. The NCA made me coach of the South Zone U-19 team. Which means they recognised my work. But our State has not,” he said.