TN’s middle order not adding up

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The Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy side has many concerns and their inadequate middle order looks most alarming of the lot.

The top four is firmly in place with Abhinav Mukund, M. Vijay, S. Badrinath and K. Dinesh Karthik taking their position in that order.

What follows looks highly fragile. With R. Sathish deciding to turn out for Assam, the selectors are not left with many options.

Knee jerk reactions were apparent when the N. Kalyanasundaram led committee went back to R. Srinivasan and R. Prasanna to bridge the middle order gap.

Though Srinivasan has a decent first-class record to fall back on, there is little of note he has done in the last two seasons to merit a recall. The right-hander last played for the state against Delhi in December 2007.

Prasanna’s case is a lot more curious. From striking hundreds in the Ranji Trophy and leading a top-notch side like Vijay CC, to being left out of the state squad and forced to play for lesser known club, Prasanna's career has taken a tumultuous hit.

There can be no denying the fact that the southpaw has clawed his way back with a string of impressive scores. At the same time there is a feeling that the team would be going too far back if he is recalled.

Prasanna is nearing 30, Srinivasan has not played for the last four years and that leaves only K. Shri Vasudeva Das and a few newcomers.

Vasu cannot complain on the opportunities he has received thus far. In 24 games he has a solitary hundred and a valuable 99 against Mumbai.

These returns do not reflect well on the batsman who was seen as the potential replacement for veteran S. Sharath.

The irony is that both Sharath and JR Madanagopal (both retired from first class) have scored more runs than Vasu in the senior division league. Madan and Sharath used to occupy the number 5 and 6 slots that was later handed over to Vasu.

A wobbly middle order can also bring down the top-order at times. “It goes without saying that the middle order we had during my days was consistent. The likes of Hemang Badani and Sharath were good contributors. Openers cannot click in every game and it always pays to have a sound set of batsmen to follow. I have not followed the TN team closely but what I can definitely say is unless there is competition the batsmen are not going to be pushed for bigger and better scores,” explained former Indian opener S. Ramesh.

C. Ganapathy added up well as a batsman but has lost the sting with the ball to be counted as a mainstay. R. Ashwin and S. Sureshkumar are handy with the bat but the team cannot depend on their contributions with the bat.

What they add can only be a bonus. In Vijay Shankar and B. Aparajith, TN have two good talents who can be groomed for the future.

Beyond them the reserve tank looks near empty as well. Batting has been TN’s strength, albeit not serving them in knockout games.

The worries are centred around the lack of bite in the attack, the middle order is another department that has to be addressed quickly if it shouldn’t become another liability.