NEWS
SCHEDULES
COLUMNS
PREVIOUS TOURS
OTHER SPORTS
STATISTICS
INTERVIEWS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

The Rediff Cricket Interview/ T Kumaran

'Everything is given by God. Nothing is achieved by you'

I just knew I had to excel at some sport. Had it not been cricket it would have been something else," says Thirunavakkarasu Kumaran, the man who some day dreams of spearheading the Indian pace attack.

As a kid, watching his brothers and friends play, he always wanted to play cricket. He started his cricket as a sixth grader at the Santhoma secondary school, because "they had the best facilities in Madras". The journey since then has been hard and laborious.

Kenny, as he is fondly called by his teammates, believes that the luck factor is crucial in a sportsman's career. An ardent Rajnikanth fan, he makes it a point to be at the talkies, first day, first show!.

"I don't like partying or going to the discos," says the speedster, whose only obsession besides cricket is possessing the best audio equipment. He can speak about the latest Bose speakers with as much ease as he would about an outswinger.

In an exhaustive interview with Faisal Shariff, the 24-year-old Tamil Nadu bowler talks about his cricketing journey thus far.

Did you always want to be a pace bowler, despite the fact that India has rarely produced fast bowlers?

No, I started as an opening batsman. Once at the nets when our new coach asked us what we specialised in, everyone claimed to be all-rounders. Afraid that I would be mocked at by the coach for repeating the same thing, I said I was an opening batsman. During one of the games I was asked to bowl and I picked up two wickets. Thus I became a regular bowler for my under-13 team.

So you got selected because of your bowling?

Since I did not get too many runs with the bat, I started concentrating on my bowling and got selected for the under-16 team. After failing to make it to the under-15 state side, I did well in the under-16 tournament. We won crucial games, qualified for knockouts in the Vijay Merchant tourney. In the pre-quarter-finals we played against Gujarat. Two days into the game and they had a hundred runs lead. On the final day we had to win outright to stay in the tournament. So we were all pumped up, even though the coach was getting ready to pack up and leave.

I was never quite used to losing like that since our school never lost. I told my captain that we will win the game the next day. After lunch the next day, I picked up six wickets. They were bundled out for 141. We had to get 258 off 41 overs. Our guys batted really well -- with (Sadagopan) Ramesh, who was an off-spinner then, scoring an important 30 runs -- and won the game for us.

At that time, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Sports Authority of India got together some pace bowlers, to develop them. They had this camp for the bowlers at Chandigarh and Gwalior. After missing out on selection in the first year, Desh Prem Azad, Kapil Dev's coach, spotted me and called me to Chandigarh. I stayed there for an academic year. I came back to play for the under-19 state team, but I was not selected in the final eleven.

Why were you dropped?

The reasons were best known to the selectors. I thought I would get a chance in one of the five games, but I didn't. I then decided to play for Tamil Nadu; not for Chandigarh. I lost one year of my studies but I didn't care much about it. I did commerce privately. I wanted to become an engineer. I took science in my eleventh, but everything went the other way. In the eleventh I got all these wickets and it changed my life.

I started playing in the local league, but I didn't get selected that year too. I was dropped. I was not even in the city team. I joined India Siemens the next year. They had very good facilities, a very good team which promoted youngsters. This was because of Dr Natarajan, who had watched me since my school days. He asked P Swadi and me to join him. He was our coach from 1987 to 1991 at the Santoma school. He asked me to play for India Siemens.

Actually I played for the second division; my friends who started cricket with me were already playing in the first division. I wanted to play in the first division somehow but that year I couldn't manage because I didn't have wickets in the lower division. I asked Swadi what I ought to do in order to play in the first division. He insisted that I play for Siemens for a year in the second division. They had a first division team also, but they wanted me to play in the second division.

When I joined India Siemens, it was a very crucial first year of my college. They had great facilities there. Whenever I would go there, they would have the wickets ready for me. I practiced very seriously in the morning and evening because I wanted to come back into the under-19 state team. It was a superb ground on the outskirts of Chennai. Superb ground; three, four wickets, turf wickets, and you had concrete also in case it rained.

I became serious about cricket because for two years I didn't get anything. I was upset. I started sprinting alone. Nobody would be there; I would go and run there; do stretching. I used to run because my coach in under-16 state team, Mr Manoj, had told me that if you want to play high level cricket you have to get up early in the morning and run. It just kind of helped me.

What drove you to do that?

Nothing. I just started. Actually, I started when I was in college. In college we were practicing one day. It was the day I joined. Mr Krishnaswamy, a manager at the Indian Overseas Bank and a past student of Vivekananda College where I studied, happened to be watching us while we practised. It so happened that we all were making fun and not practising seriously. Since Vivekanada college had a good reputation he got angry and fired us like anything. He told us: 'You fellows are not running; you have no discipline; nothing. How do you expect to play cricket? How do you expect to win matches for your college?"

That went very deep into me. Since then I began to do a lot of running.

Was it sprinting?

It's jogging. Normal speed what you run. It started like this. Then sometimes one of my friends would accompany me. Sometimes doing it alone is boring. So you go with your friends or something. That year was superb for me. I didn't expect it, but I got around 35 wickets in nine games. We went to the first division from the second; we didn't win the championship but were second. Two teams from each division go up. That really motivated me, because I helped the team to go up. And that year itself I got into the under-19 state side. They have this game called City versus Districts. From that game they select the team for the state. The Madras city team is west of the district. I got fifteen wickets in that game. That made me wondered why it was happening. I knew it was because of running and hard work.

How much do you run now?

Twenty minutes, 30 minutes; now it's fully scientific.

After that what happened?

Finally, after three years I was with India Siemens. They helped me a lot. I went to play lot of tournaments. Being there at the age of 16, 17, 18, 19 I got to play in the Sail Trophy in Delhi. I used to bowl. I bowled once to Azhar when I was 18.

How did it feel?

It was superb bowling to the captain. I bowled really well. In my spell I just gave one four, and that was hit by Azhar. Otherwise, we won the game. We scored less but we won. That was really superb. Azhar was playing for MRF and I was playing for India Siemens.

Did he say anything to you after that?

No, I didn't have the guts to go and talk to him. He told my manager that I bowled well or something like that. I was really happy bowling to Azhar, the Indian captain. It was really superb.

How was it like at India Siemens?

The main thing is that they had good practice facilities. They took me to a tournament in Bangalore where I got five wickets against Karnataka in the final. I played only in the final and got five wickets. Then I went to Malaysia with them to play in the Benson and Hedges series. So I had got good exposure when I was with India Siemens. After those two years I changed to MRF because there were already two medium pacers in India Siemens. I was playing for the second team. They had three teams in the first division.

In one year I performed a lot, actually (I shouldn't be saying it like this...sounds a little pompous). The first year of my first division was horrible. In the first eight games I had only three wickets. There were totally eleven games. I was supposed to be dropped for the ninth game. I went and asked my captain whether I was playing or not. They kept me in the eleven because I performed for them the previous year. I then got into the first team from the second year. I got a lucky break. I got seven wickets. That made all the difference. The next game I got five and then in another game I got four. So the season ended with 19 wickets.

The next year I started very well. In the first match I got six, the second five. I was expecting to be in the Ranji Trophy team. I played in the Buchhi Babu tournament. I got 40 runs and four wickets against Bombay. I captained the University team. I got four wickets and 40 runs. Then I played against Karnataka. I got five wickets at the KACA for India Siemens.

Then I was expecting a call for the Ranji Trophy, but I was not there. So it was a big shock for me. Being a medium pacer, getting so many wickets, they should have considered me, but they didn't. So I let it go and started playing. The fifth game I came into the squad, but I didn't play. We were to play only one medium pacer -- Robin (Singh) played. He said no worries as to you will get your chance that year. The last game of that year I got my chance. At the end of the season I debuted. I didn't do anything extraordinary well but bowled decently and got a wicket in each innings.

Who were the other bowlers with you that time?

S Mahesh and Dev Anand. The next year I didn't get many wickets in the league also. I got just three or four wickets. I didn't do much. Then I got into the under-22 team, where I performed. I went to the KSCA. That year I got dropped because wickets were not favorable. Then I joined IPCL and went along with them. I got dropped. So I didn't get a chance to perform. Then luckily I had this under-22 tournament. I played in the last three games. I missed the first two games because of the KSCA and IPCL tournaments. In the first game I got four wickets against Hyderabad, and then a nine-wicket haul against Kerala. We won by an innings. Then I didn't get wickets against Karnataka.

That time Dev Anand was dropped from the squad. He had some injury and was dropped. Mahesh was there. I came into the squad in the third game. After the next game I was dropped. In the Kerala game Mahesh got injured. He had dislocated his finger. So I knew I would play in the next game, because no bowlers were there. It was against Goa, and I was lucky as I got five wickets.

Why do you say lucky? Why don't you say you really got it?

Everything is given by God. That's what I think. Nothing is achieved by you. You just work hard for it. Everything else is given to you by God. My thinking is you can't take credit for whatever you get. You have to just work hard for it. Even I might have bowled well. That is luck. Every thing happened for me. I'll tell you, this is the first one. I got five wickets.

On more thing is, we didn't have any outright win in that league phase. So we had to take it against Goa. I got five wickets, we scored runs and they were playing the second innings. In the last over of the match we had to get two wickets to win outright. They were lot of runs behind. The last two overs I bowled. They got the new ball in and they just told me to bowl fast at the stumps and they will get out. The first over I bowled I didn't get any wicket. In the last over of the day I had to get two wickets and luckily I got it again. So I got three wickets. Earlier I got one wicket in the second innings.

So again it was three wickets in the second innings. We won outright. It was really great, playing my second game for the state, and winning it for them. Everybody was there, Raman, Robin. It is an inspiration when are congratulated. They used to help a lot --- Raman, V B Chandrashekhar. They have very good knowledge of cricket.

Like Robin, being a medium pacer himself, used to teach a lot of things. Whenever he was available he would tell me a lot of things. His shoes are very lucky for me. He has given me three pairs of shoes. Now also I'm using his shoes. Tomorrow if I play I will still use those shoes only.

The interview continues: 'In Australia I learnt about attitude'

Interviews