Tamil Nadu have pressed the reset button halfway through the domestic season, appointing former India left-arm spinner M Venkataramana to guide their white-ball sides while retaining M Senthilnathan as red-ball coach.
“We believe a format-specific approach will give the squad clearer direction,” the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) said in a late-night release after an emergency meeting in Chennai on Tuesday. “The decision is aimed at immediate improvement rather than placing blame on any one individual.”
Four rounds into the Ranji Trophy, Tamil Nadu have yet to win. They sit in the lower half of Group A, above only Odisha and Nagaland, and still have to finish their ongoing fifth-round fixture against Uttar Pradesh in Coimbatore. Even two outright victories in January’s final group matches may not take them to the knock-outs.
Senthilnathan, installed only at the start of the season, stays with the red-ball outfit until those matches are completed. Venkataramana, who played a solitary Test in Kingston in 1989 and took 247 first-class wickets for the state, will run the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali campaigns.
A senior squad member, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted the mood has been flat. “We’ve leaked first-innings leads too easily. A fresh voice for white-ball cricket could help,” he said.
Tamil Nadu conceded 512 to Nagaland before scrambling first-innings points and have lost outright to Jharkhand and Andhra while giving up a lead to defending champions Vidarbha. Rinku Singh’s counter-attack in Coimbatore has merely kept them alive for first-innings honours this week.
Former state captain S Badrinath offered measured support for the switch. “Split coaching isn’t a magic bullet, but it lets specialists focus on formats. Venkataramana knows our systems inside out,” he told local radio.
It is the third change in two seasons. Sulakshan Kulkarni was removed in 2023-24 after player discontent, with L Balaji filling in. Senthilnathan replaced Balaji ahead of this campaign; now his brief is trimmed to red-ball duties.
Venkataramana’s immediate challenge is the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s, where Tamil Nadu share a competitive group with Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Tripura, Jharkhand and Saurashtra. Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been named captain—his first leadership role after the selectors passed over regular options M Shahrukh Khan, R Sai Kishore and N Jagadeesan.
Former India all-rounder Hemang Badani believes Chakravarthy’s elevation fits the state’s new thinking. “Varun sees the game differently; putting him in charge signals a break from routine,” Badani said.
Whether the dual-coach system brings quick results remains to be seen. Tamil Nadu need wins, and they need them soon, but for now the TNCA hopes specialist guidance will stem an early-season slide without upending the entire structure.
