On 3 December 2001, Tinu Yohannan created historical past as he grew to become the primary participant from Kerala to play for the Indian cricket staff. On a foggy morning on the PCA Stadium in Mohali, he took the brand new ball towards England within the first Test of the collection and bought his first wicket off solely the fourth ball; Mark Butcher is caught at slip. It was a dream begin.
“Is it 20 years already?” asks Yohannan when indianexpress.com referred to as him.
“I don’t think so. Maybe because I have always been associated with the sport with coaching and even after retiring from first-class cricket,” says Yohannan, who’s presently the coach of the Kerala senior males’s cricket staff.
While S Sreesanth has since develop into extra well-known, Yohannan continues to be a trailblazer for Kerala, primarily the cricket backwaters, particularly at the moment. Tinu Yohannan, son of veteran Olympian TC Yohannan, who holds the nationwide document in lengthy leap for practically three many years, believes it was a blessing that he was chosen from his state.
“A lot of players before me expected to be the first player from Kerala to play for India. Some really deserving men (like KN Ananthapadmanabhan) were missed. You can call it luck, destiny or whatever, but I got the privilege of playing for India. I have always been grateful to God for this,” says the person who represented India in three Tests (5 wickets) and three ODIs (5 wickets).
“When I look back, I think everything has turned out well for me. I had a pretty good run in the Ranji Trophy leading up to that series, with 20-25 wickets in each of the last two seasons, and There were some good performances in the Duleep Trophy and the Irani Trophy. And the selectors were looking to make changes after India lost the series away to South Africa,” says Tinu, who was one among three gamers – Iqbal Siddiqui and Sanjay Bagar amongst others. There had been two – who made their debut for India in that Mohali Test.
While phrases like ‘Fab Four’ or ‘Fab Five’ weren’t but in vogue in 2001, strolling into the dressing room of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and others may be an intimidating alternative for kids. Was.
This was to not occur, as Yohannan would quickly discover out.
“I nonetheless vividly bear in mind our staff assembly earlier than the sport on the lodge. John Wright (coach) launched us to the staff. Sourav (captain) and different seniors made us really feel a part of the staff as a result of they had been very Were welcoming. It simply took two apply periods and I felt very snug and satisfied that I belonged right here,” he says.
India gained the toss and determined to bowl, a uncommon name on an Indian wicket.
“It was a good cricket wicket with live grass and cloudy conditions forced us to bowl. To be honest, I didn’t feel much pressure because I was in a good mental state. Sachin and Sourav field at mid-off and mid-on when you are bowling; was an incredible experience. Regarding the first wicket, I have always been a good bowler for the left-handed batsmen; It was my strength to take the ball away from him. I hit Butcher for a boundary with a good length delivery that had just gone away, and Laxman took the catch at second slip,” recollects Yohannan.
The pacer additionally took the second wicket after Marcus Trescothick and Nasser Hossain scored 125 runs. Trescothick hit a ball to the aspect and was thrown backwards, resulting in the collapse of England that set India on their option to a straightforward 10-wicket victory.
While Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh had been match-winners for India with eight and 7 wickets respectively, Yohannan made his mark within the second innings as nicely by once more eradicating each the England openers. “In the second innings, I needed to bowl a little bit in a different way. I attempted a brief ball and so they each fell to take the shot, had been caught within the deep sq. leg space.
Credits to MRF Pace Foundation
From becoming a member of the MRF Pace Foundation in 1997 as a rookie with district-level expertise in organized cricket, to donning the India jersey in 2001, Yohannan’s rise was fast.
“When I joined MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, I was completely raw. I could have bowled fast but I was present everywhere. I just went there for trial. Dennis Lillee and TA Shekhar molded me after seeing some spark in me and asked me to stay back. I didn’t go back home for six months. I attended Loyola College in Chennai and those two years were crucial in my development as a bowler,” he says.
Tinu says that coming from Kerala, the place junior cricket was not as outstanding because it was in main cricket centres, was each a blessing and a curse for him.
“The fundamentals of cricket, technical consciousness, organizing my motion, bowling a set sample, I discovered all of it within the basis. Whatever Lily or Shekhar sir informed me mattered to me. Whereas, I noticed that others who got here from locations like Baroda, Mumbai, Bangalore had been already a bit extra superior of their growth. They knew what to do,” he says.
fall off the radar
In India’s 2002 tour of the West Indies, Tinu Yohannan made his ODI debut in Barbados and was instrumental within the win with three wickets (3/33), particularly once more all left-handers – Wavell Hinds, Chris Gayle and Ridley Jacobs. However, as senior bowlers like Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar discovered type, Yohannan couldn’t maintain on to his place.
A Test towards New Zealand in Hamilton later that yr can be his final for India.
Does he have any regrets? “I would not remorse it. But trying again, I might have developed into a greater bowler. I used to be content material to be the bowler I used to be. I might have developed an outswinger or tried to grasp reverse swing. might do,” says Yohannan, who cites the instance of his modern Zaheer Khan, who made many developments in a profitable profession.
Could he have gone to play county cricket to get extra publicity? “I may have. But I chose the safer option. That, at the time, was tied to my job (Yohannan worked with India Pistons and Chemplast in Chennai). I was not courageous enough, maybe,” they are saying.
Tinu Yohannan took 145 wickets in 59 first-class matches and 63 wickets in 45 List-A matches. Since 2014, he has been actively concerned with Kerala Cricket in varied roles similar to bowling coach, caretaker coach and now head coach of the boys’s staff.
Even although Kerala sees ever-increasing illustration in IPL groups nowadays, the trail damaged by Yohannan has been paved by solely three gamers – Sreesanth and Sanju Samson and Sandeep Warrier.
While Yohannan tries to mould the subsequent era, his recommendation to budding cricketers is obvious: “Your dream may be to play for India. But bear in mind, the matter doesn’t finish right here. You have to remain there. Cricket is a full time career and you must sacrifice quite a bit and preserve enhancing on daily basis.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
