P Krishna Kumar: Minting bowling riches for J&K

Hubballi, Feb 28 (PTI) P Krishna Kumar smiles gently while recollecting his early days as Jammu and Kashmir’s bowling coach.

“Personally, it was not a challenge for me, but my family was a little bit worried.”  But on a sun-baked Hubballi afternoon, his family back home too will be smiling after Krishna Kumar, a former Rajasthan Ranji player with roots in Palakkad, Kerala, played a silent yet significant role in Jammu and Kashmir’s maiden Ranji Trophy title victory.  “It's a terrific feeling. I think there is no better feeling than this. Actually, this is my third year with Jammu and Kashmir. First year, when I saw the boys, I straightaway felt that these boys have the talent to win the Ranji Trophy and we have done it and it's a great moment,” Krishna Kumar told PTI.  “I have waited 35 years for this trophy. 15 years of my playing career and 20 years of my coaching career, I am very, very happy. It's a very emotional moment for me,” he added.  For that moment, Krishna Kumar is indebted to his wards, the J&K bowlers led by the irrepressible Auqib Nabi, who took 60 wickets in 10 matches this season.  What makes him a coach’s dream?  “I think it's his wrist position. It's his strength, you know. And landing the ball on the seam most of the time and bowling in the right areas. I think that is his strength and he bowls at a decent pace of 135 kmph.

“And if you land the ball in the right place, I think the pitch doesn't matter. You must have seen here, on the dead pitch here (Hubballi) he has taken five wickets.”  Krishna Kumar is the first specific bowling coach of J&K, and how did he develop their skill sets?  “I worked specifically on their skill part because I feel cricket is a game between two players. So, I think I developed their skills. If there is something in their actions or something, we go for specific drills for that.

“And I teach them the tactics, how to bowl on different pitches, how to bowl with different balls. How to find out the mistakes of the batsmen. That has helped our bowlers,” he said.  But then coaching a team requires complete synergy between the coaches, and Krishna Kumar said he has been blessed with wonderful colleagues in head coach Ajay Sharma and fielding coach Dishant Yagnik.  “Mithun Manhas (current BCCI president) was our cricketing head when I joined J&K, and Brigadier Anil Gupta was our administrative office. They gave us the freedom to work and that was very, very important. They never meddled with our work.  “And our head coach Ajay Sharma, he gave us the space to work. That is why me and Dishant Yagnik, our fielding coach, have to appreciate him,” he added.  The 52-year-old might have been chuffed to see his wards lifting the coveted trophy.  But Krishna Kumar knows that his job is still not done, and he wants to build a capable second line of bowlers behind Nabi & Co.

“I think Jammu and Kashmir is blessed with fast bowlers. There are a lot of bowlers in the U19 and U23 sections. Basit Basheer is there. Mustaba Yusuf is there. He has already played the Ranji Trophy, but he's now in the 23.  “Wasim Basheer bowls above 140 kmph. So, we have a lot of good fast bowlers. From this year, we are going to have specific camps for them so that, you know, we can have backup bowlers.

“If you have backup bowlers, then the main bowlers can be rested in the least important matches or against a weaker team. So the main bowlers will get some rest and the injury chances become very less. So, I feel the backup is very important for any state,” he detailed.  However, express pacer Umran Malik appeared only sporadically during J&K’s campaign this season, but Krishna Kumar hoped to see him more regularly next season.   “I think he was bowling well after coming after an injury. I think it's difficult for a boy of 24 years to recover from a one-year injury. He was doing well, but, you know, the red ball format needs more consistency.

“He's working on it, and I'm pretty sure that you'll see Umran next year in our bowling line-up and he is part of our camp that I had mentioned earlier,” he signed off. PTI UNG PDS PDS PDS