Sanju Samson, who captained Kerala in the Ranji Trophy 2015-16 season, has expressed his desire to move away from the helm. The decision came after Sanju could not perform up to the expectations with the bat the ongoing season, in which Kerala failed to enter the knockout stage. Ranjith Thomas, the chairman of selectors, backed the move and the selectors did not name the captain when they announced the state team for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. A new captain will be announced soon. Indrajith, Coming out of Shadows Baba Indrajith has stepped out of the shadows of his twin brother – Baba Aparajith. Tamil Nadu have ended up sixth in Ranji Trophy Group B with 18 points, but Indrajith stood tall for them with an excellent personal effort. The right-handed batsman tallied 760 runs for his team, five more than the second-placed Dinesh Karthik, at 32.72 with a solitary hundred. But records apart, his consistency is more significant. This was the second consecutive season where he tallied more than 700 runs. In the 2014-15 season, Indrajith had garnered 713 runs, third highest run-getter for TN behind Karthik and Abhinav Mukund. Indrajith has a mature head on his shoulders too – the reason behind TN selectors entrusting him with the vice-captaincy of the side this season. He seldom disappointed either. Coming back to his primary vocation, batting is an extension of his personality – calm and sensible.

Indrajith is at ease on any surface and comfortable against pace and spin alike. Of course, Aparajith, 26 minutes younger to Indrajith, had courted popularity much earlier through his exploits in the Under-19 World Cup in Australia in 2012; but Indrajith patiently waited for his chance and when it came on his way, he grabbed it with both the hands. His childhood coach S Balaji pointed out that Indrajith can read the situation and the game, in general, with pin-point accuracy, stressing on two basic reasons for his success.

Power hitting class

Well-known coaches Julian Fountain and Boomer Collins will impart the nuances of adding more power to your game at the Karnataka Institute of Cricket this month. Fountain has been a fielding coach associated with many teams in the past and he will be concentrating on the throwing part especially from outfield. Collins is a respected figure around the world, though you would require a good knowledge and thorough following of baseball to identify this former Toronto Blue Jays player. The 26-year old has been actively following a career in cricket after his contract with Blue Jays ended. He is upbeat too. “26 is not too late an age to pursue a career in cricket. At least I know what it takes to play a professional sport through my stint with Blue Jays,” he said. Fountain too expressed confidence that Collins can get a move on as a cricket professional.

Collins in the camp will be focusing on hitting the ball hard and long and youngsters would sure benefit from those techniques, adding a new dimension to their game.