Coach S. Sunil Kumar says the team scouts zeroed in on players who fitted into the Titans’ set-up
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
An enthusiastic bunch of rookies and rising stars from the Thrissur Titans took their supporters through some nerve-wracking moments before clinching the Kerala Cricket League title on Saturday.
As the young guns failed to close out the match comfortably, it was left to the older and wiser captain M.S. Akhil to seal victory by slamming Ibnul Afthab for a boundary with four balls to spare in the final.
The Titans’ triumph was a strong vindication of the management’s policy of promoting young talent. From giving opportunities to 18-year-old K.R. Rohit — the youngest player in the tournament — in high-pressure knockout matches to handing a debut to greenhorn pacer Muhammed Irshad in a crucial league match, the Thrissur management was willing to take risks. The players responded by executing their assigned roles perfectly.
“The average age of the team is 23, which is the lowest in the tournament. Our oldest player, M.S. Akhil, is 35. We made him the captain after being impressed with his leadership skills, and he did a pretty good job. At Thrissur Titans, we have always believed in encouraging young talent, even if it meant taking a gamble. But it was not as though we picked players at random at the auction. We did the scouting and zeroed in on players who we thought would fit into our setup,” said S. Sunil Kumar, the Titans coach.
Chasing blues
When the Titans lost three chases in a row during the league stage, it became apparent that opposing teams fancied setting targets for them. However, the Titans consistently found clutch players to finish off games. Mohammed Enaan, A.K. Arjun, Anand Joseph and Akhil all turned out to be last-over heroes for Thrissur.
“I think we could have avoided some last-over finishes if we had batted better in the middle overs. Our main issues this season were a lack of runs in the PowerPlay and losing wickets in the middle overs. However, we always finished well because we had batting depth and our tail-enders were fairly capable of using the long handle.
“We weren’t too worried when we lost three chases in a row during the league phase. I had faith in the boys. In the final, we had the chase under control, but when we lost a couple of quick wickets, the instructions to the players were to take risks and go for big shots. We didn’t want to leave 15 or 16 runs to chase in the final over. We kept the requirement down to four, and we won,” the coach concluded.
Published – September 07, 2026 07:34 pm IST
