Dav Whatmore reveals how he turned around Kerala's fate in Ranji Trophy and why Sanju Samson is ready for international cricket

In the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season, Kerala cricket team could win just one game, that too against Tripura. This performance triggered many changes in Kerala cricket. Mid-way through the season head coach P Balachandran was asked to go. He was replaced by former pacer Tinu Yohannan. But even that could not change the written fate for the team in that particular season. The result was not so heartening in the past seasons as well.

In 2015-16, they had drawn two games and won two. In 2014-15, they drew one and won one. In 2013-14, they won two and drew as many.

The gap between them and the teams which qualified for the Last-8 was huge.

Kerala’s consistent disappointments in Ranji Trophy needed a quick solution. In March 2017, Dav Whatmore joined the team as head coach in what was supposed to be the game-changing move for the team. In the subsequent season, Kerala qualified for the Ranji quarters for the first time and in 2018-19 season, they debuted in the semi-finals.

In the two-year period, Kerala still have a gap to fill, but not the one between the group stages and the semis but between the semis and that maiden Ranji Trophy title. These were the same players with same set of skills, so what really did Whatmore change in such a quick time?

“Together with some professional players that we have, I felt it is a reasonable group of players to make an impression and actually say that ‘hey listen, it is time we started to win a few’. I attacked the first season with the same thought in my mind without having to say too much,” said Whatmore.

The self-confidence brought by Whatmore rubbed on the players, if the head coach is to be believed. He said, “They could feel the confidence. These things are hard to put into words sometimes. You don’t have to say too much. The way you go about the business, gives them the confidence that I believe in them.”

In the last two seasons, Kerala have beaten some top sides of the tournament, including champions teams like Saurashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and Bengal. For a team like Kerala to beat such sides must have required a lot of mental conditioning of players. But Whatmore did not put too much stress into it. He said, “Not so much of mental conditioning. (We did) individual chats. You naturally cover a little bit of that. Preparation for Ranji Trophy, I think, was really good. We tried to be as specific as we could possibly be. With facilities provided by Kerala Cricket Association (KCA), it enabled us to prepare as well as we can.”

The last season was more challenging in terms of team’s form. Whatmore pointed out that there were constant injuries and players going out of form, yet the team showed character and reached the last-four stage of the tournament.

“This season was a little different than the previous season although this season was a better one, in terms of where we ended up. In the last season, we won 5 and lost just 1. This season, in 8 matches, we won four and lost 3.

“In this particular season, we had a topsy-turvy journey because people got injured, people lost form. We were bowled out for a score of below 100 on one occasion. There were bad times as well as good times. Despite that we managed to achieve the target of qualifying to the semis. Having done that, I can say it was a good year for us overall,” said the former Australia batsman.

One of the key highlights of 2018-19 season for Kerala were the two pacers — Sandeep Warrier and Basil Thampi — who collected a total of 80 wickets together in the season. Whatmore realised their importance and credited them for being self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses.

“He (Sandeep) has been the leader of our pace attack in my short time here and I would suspect before me as well. He is normally a 13-wicket-per-season kind of bowler. But last season was pretty bad in his words. We identified the reason behind that and we tried to correct that.

“He got 44 wickets this season. He is experienced. He has got a very good head on his shoulders. He leaves no stone unturned. His fitness level is very high. His skill level is pretty good. If all of this is put together and if you are in right space in your head, you are more than likely going to be successful. That’s exactly what he has done,” added Whatmore.

On the other hand, he feels Thampi is on his way to becoming a better red-ball bowler. He said, “Basil Thampi, on the other hand, is not there yet. He is understanding the nuance of bowling with the red ball. He has come with a big reputation in white-ball cricket. His bad balls have been half-volleys, over-pitched. Now, he is learning the value of bowling the Test match length, hitting the top of off-stump. He is becoming a bit harder to get away now. He has also returned some really good numbers in terms of wickets and also economy.”

Whatmore was all praise for the one of the bright young talents in the country — Sanju Samson. The Kerala batting star has been piling on runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well as domestic cricket, but he is waiting to don the India jersey again. Frequent injuries and fitness issues have come his way as hurdles which he has failed to cross at times. He was injured mid-way through this season as well, and failed the Yo-Yo test right after the IPL which hampered his selection in the Indian team. However, Whatmore is quite confident that Sanju is ready for the big ticket to the global stage.

“I think Sanju is more than talented to play international cricket. There is no question about that. As far as failing that Yo-Yo test, it was probably not the best timing to do that. It happened right after the IPL season. He passed the test a few weeks after that. So, that’s not a problem.”

He concluded with one important advice for Sanju though.

“He is got to learn a bit more consistency in terms of his performance in Ranji Trophy. He has got time on his side. He will settle down nicely into a very good player.”