I want to see Karnataka playing consistent cricket: Arvind

Former left-arm pacer S Arvind (right) will now be seen as Karnataka coach

Bengaluru, June 8: Former left-arm pacer S Arvind on Friday (June 8) was appointed coach of the Karnataka senior team (2018-19 season) along with former batsman KT Yere Goud.

"It was really surprising for me to get that call from KSCA - Santosh Menon and Fazal Khaleel called me and conveyed the decision. It is definitely a challenging role and I am looking forward to it," Arvind told Mykhel.

Arvind, who had retired from all forms of cricket after the last domestic season, and Goud have replaced PV Shashikanth and GK Anil Kumar after just one year.

In the last Ranji season, Karnataka lost to Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy semifinal but ended the season on a high winning the Vijay Hazare Trophy, incidentally the last competitive tournament of Arvind (February 27, 2018).

And a little over four months after Arvind has returned to the fold as the senior team coach. Arvind said that short interval between being a player and coach will help him immensely.

"It is actually a blessing. I have been a player till a few months back and now it's time to don a new role and I really thank KSCA for it. It is a good thing that I have not been away from cricket for long as I have also been involved with the Under-23 side in a coaching role for a while now. Of course, there are senior players like R Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun around and their presence will help me a lot," said Arvind.

New coaches are appointed for Karnataka team for the 2018-19 season:

1. Senior State Team: KT Yere Goud & Sreenath Aravind.
2. Under 23 Team: NC Aiyappa & Sudhir Nadig Ameet.
3. Under 19 Team: Deepak Chowgle & Gopalakrishna Chaitra.
— Karnataka Ranji Team/ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಣಜಿ ತಂಡ (@RanjiKarnataka) June 8, 2018

Arvind said the appointment of Goud too will augur well for Karnataka. "It is a good call to appoint Yere as coach. He was a calm player with unflappable temperament and that trait will help the team in the upcoming tournaments. I am looking forward to work with him," he said.

So what's his vision for Karnataka cricket? "Like every other coach or player, I would also like to see Karnataka winning a lot of trophies. I have been part of Karnataka teams that won several trophies in domestic cricket and as a coach too I would like to repeat the feat. But more than that, what I would like to see the team playing hard-nosed, consistent cricket and then the trophies will naturally follow," said Arvind.

Former Karnataka pace bowler NC Aiyappa and middle-order batsman Deepak Chougule too migrated to coaching roles with under-23 and under-19 sides respectively.

The full list of coaches: Karnataka senior team: KT Yere Goud, S Arvind.

Under-23: NC Aiyappa, SN Ameet.

Under-19: Deepak Chougule, G Chaitra,

Under-16: G Nidhuvan, MG Sunil Shankar.

Under-14: Rajashekhar Shanbal, G Mukund.