S Sharath back as Tamil Nadu chief selector

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) executive committee meeting, which was held in Chennai on Monday (July 11) evening, decided to retain S Sharath as the head of the state selection committee for the upcoming season. Others in the committee include P Subbiah, Ram Prakash and former state cricketer D Girish.

Girish is the only new name in the panel and he will be replacing C Hemanth Kumar. "Girish is an experienced candidate who represented Tamil Nadu at the state level and we are sure he would do justice to his role," a TNCA official told Times of India.

The official pointed out that TNCA was backing the senior state selection committee to deliver the goods. "Our aim has always been to win the Ranji Trophy - India's premier domestic competition," said the official. "We have come to the finals on a few occasions but the title has been eluding us for long, and we hope this is the season we will go the distance. We have reposed faith in our senior selection committee which we felt did their job last season, and it was decided not to tinker much."

Hemanth, who did not get an extension, was named as part of the support staff of the Lyca Kovai Kings for the inaugural edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) which is scheduled to kick off in the final week of August.

Sharath, on his part, was happy to continue in his post. "We are watching the TNCA first-division matches for now. The domestic season is still a few months away and things will take shape in the coming weeks. The decision to pick the coach who will guide the team, followed by the state probables will happen in due course," said Sharath.