Hyderabad have roped in J Arunkumar as their head coach. The former Karnataka captain and coach has signed a three-year annually renewable deal to coach the Hyderabad senior team, starting from the upcoming 2017-18 season.
The 42-year old, who was the batting coach of Kings XI Punjab in the last season of Indian Premier League, is one of the most successful coaches in domestic cricket. He coached Karnataka to the treble of domestic titles – Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Irani Cup – for two years in succession in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
In his last season with Karnataka, he guided the team to the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy in 2016-17 in addition to helping them finish on top of the Inter-State T20 League’s south zone table.
Arunkumar will replace Bharat Arun as Hyderabad coach after the latter was appointed Team India bowling coach. Bharat Arun had done a remarkable job in his only season at charge by leading a young Hyderabad team led by the experienced S Badrinath to the quarterfinals and Arunkumar will be keen to mentor the youngsters like he did during his spell with Karnataka from where the likes of KL Rahul, Karun Nair, and Manish Pandey emerged as some of the best talents in the country.
“I have seen most of these boys play over the last five years, in one-day cricket and Twenty20 cricket, though we didn’t play a lot of Ranji Trophy cricket against Hyderabad during that period,” Arunkumar was quoted as saying by Wisden India.
“They have always been a good, positive set of guys. They have done well last year, so their confidence levels are high. Hyderabad were always a top side when we played, reaching the quarterfinals and semifinals regularly. They briefly lost their identity in between, but there are a lot of young, exciting talent that I am looking forward to working with.”
Apart from having some talented youngsters like Mohammed Siraj and Tanmay Agarwal, Hyderabad will be bolstered by the return of Ambati Rayudu and the newly-appointed head coach is looking forward to it.
“Young players like Mohammed Siraj and Tanmay Agarwal have already broken into IPL teams, and as a team, Hyderabad have a lot of hunger,” he added. “It is a bit like how it was with the Karnataka boys when they were all young – players like KL Rahul, Karun Nair, and Manish Pandey. They had the hunger and the desire, and that is what I see in a lot of these Hyderabad lads. It is always good to coach a team that is hungry and wants to do well as a unit. The fact that Rayudu will be back as captain is great, he is always a very positive guy on and off the field. And my favorite batsman is VVS Laxman, so there is nothing better for me than coaching Hyderabad!”