"Dear TNCA, please do not recruit such coaches from outside" - Kris Srikkanth fumes at Sulakshan Kulkarni following Tamil Nadu's semi-final defeat

Former Indian batter Kris Srikkanth has lambasted Tamil Nadu head coach Sulakshan Kulkarni for his remarks on skipper Sai Kishore following the team's defeat against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy semi-finals.

Kulkarni stated after the innings and 70-run loss that Tamil Nadu lost the game because Sai Kishore decided to bat first upon winning the toss. Tamil Nadu were bundled out for a paltry 146 in the first innings, and while Mumbai were also reeling at 106-7 at one stage, they recovered to score 378 courtesy of Shardul Thakur's maiden first-class ton.

Srikkanth did not mince his words while speaking on his YouTube channel, going on a rant against Kulkarni for his post-match comments.

"Please TNCA people, keep people like these away. If they give interviews like this, they should be let go. Sorry to use such words, but it is absolutely not fair. Why are people like these getting 85 Lakhs or 1 crore, just go to your home back in Bombay, because we know how to win medals without you, we know how to manage and we will manage. Dear TNCA, please do not recruit such coaches from outside" Srikkanth said.

"I'll tell you what, I remember, I have been in a similar situation as the chairman of the selection committee. India won the 2011 World Cup, then went onto lose 0-4 in England soon after. When the team loses, the captain takes the blame or the management. As the chairman, I took the blame," Srikkanth added.

Tamil Nadu last won the Ranji Trophy title in the 1987-88 season while finishing as runners-up in 2012 and 2015. Although they have struggled to bag silverware in red-ball domestic cricket, their white-ball fortunes have been brilliant of late.

Tamil Nadu won the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2017 and finished as runners-up in 2020 and 2022. In the shortest format, they played in three successive Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy finals from 2020 to 2022, winning two and losing one.

"We lost the match at 9 o'clock on day one" - Tamil Nadu head coach Sulakshan Kulkarni

Tamil Nadu had breezed past Saurashtra in the quarter-finals, winning by an innings and 33 runs in Coimbatore. R Sai Kishore was the player of the match, which showcased the brilliant campaign he was having.

However, the situation turned on its head quickly as the left-arm spinner was blamed for the defeat by the head coach.

"I always speak straightforward - we lost the match at 9 o'clock on day one. The moment I saw the wicket I exactly knew what we were going to get. Everything was set, we won the toss, as a coach, as a Mumbaikar, I know the conditions well. We should have bowled but the captain had some different instinct," Kulkarni said after Tamil Nadu's defeat in the semi-final.

Mumbai will face Vidarbha in the 2024 Ranji Trophy Final at the Wankhede Stadium, scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 10 onwards.