The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wants to fill up the vacant post of team India coaching staff and is inviting applications. Former Karnataka cricketer J Arun Kumar, who is the coach of Karnataka, raised his hand for the position of batting coach. Kumar guided Karnataka to double trebles in two consecutive domestic seasons as his side won the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Irani Cup titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. The 41-year-old is currently coaching the NCA zonal young cricketers in Shivamogga and feels that he is a strong contender for the post considering his superb record with his state team in domestic cricket.
He confidently said, "Considering my achievements as batting coach with the Karnataka senior team, I feel I am a strong contender for the post of Team India batting coach."
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Credentials to coach a national team
He then went on to say that he has all the qualifications to be the coach of the national team as he managed several players who have already played at the international level. Kumar said, "I have all the credentials to be coaching a national team. I am a certified NCA Level 2 coach. Some of the players I coached, such as Manish Pandey, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair, have made it to India and India A squads.”
The Bangalore-born cricketer has played 109 first-class matches and scored over 7,000 runs, he has also featured in 100 List A games. The former right-handed batsman was picked as the batting coach of Karnataka in the 2012-13 season and played his part in as Karnataka won several domestic titles. In 2012, he guided the Karnataka Under-25 team to Col CK Nayudu Trophy title.
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Kumar also spoke about his experience in handling youngsters and claimed that he knows the skills required to prepare young players mentally and physically, "As I have handled a lot of youngsters here, I can understand the requirements of the players in Team India. Apart from basic coaching, I've also mastered the skills of preparing the players mentally and physically.”
Following India’s World T20 semi-final loss to eventual champions West Indies the terms of team director Ravi Shastri along with all the coaching staff has ended. The Board is looking to fill up those vacancies before India’s four-match Test tour of West Indies.
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