M Senthilnathan Udumalpet MRF India U19 Captain

The boy from Udumalpet set grounds ablaze in the 1980s with his dominating presence culminating in the Indian Captaincy at the first ever U19 World Cup in Australia and was on the verge of India Selection for the Australasia Cup in 1990

Over the last decade or so, he has been anchoring the Pace Foundation in Chennai as the Head Coach

In the mid 1980s, a teenager from Udumalpet was making waves in the cricketing arena not just in TN but across the country and overseas. His presence at the crease gave enormous confidence to his teammates while creating jitters in the opposition rank. The field was spread far and wide  the moment he came into bat but often the ball was sent to the ‘B’ Ground or the tennis court at the Forest College ground in Coimbatore. The opposition was once so terrified by his demolition act that they forfeited the match!!! He was such a naturally gifted player that even his teammates were in awe of his talent. By the time he was 17/18, future international fast bowlers such as Bishop and Reiffel were wonderstruck by his magical presence at the crease. Almost everyone in the cricketing fraternity reckoned that he would burst on to the international scene such had been his dominating presence in age group cricket. His mentor Brijesh Patel invited him to Bangalore to play for Karnataka, Air India offered him an officer’s post and a move to Bombay while he was still a teenager, one that would have meant playing alongside Sanjay Manjrekar and Sachin Tendulkar. Refusing both, he stuck to his home state. The man who backed him the most through that entire decade, Soundararajan of SVPB, placed the biggest cricketing bet of his life on this teenager. Vasu Paranjpe, his coach at the U19 World Cup, openly remarked that he was a player to be watched and one for the future.

Many a time the ball was still sent towering over the roof at Chepauk into MAC B or into the Canal. But the consistent big scores that was a dominating feature at U15 and U19 levels remained elusive. This combined with the cricketing system that did not nurture the special talent undid his progress and soon he faded away. It turned out to be yet another case of a premature exit in TN cricket. While he did not live up to the expectation as a player, he came back strong in the second innings and has been heading the World’s Premier Pace Foundation as the Chief Coach over the last 13years. Here is the story.

From the Udumalpet Govt School

M Senthilnathan hailed from Udumalpet, a small town about70kms from Coimbatore on the Pazhani highway. His appa, Mayilvahanan was a Government School teacher who played for Udumalpet Cricket Club. Under his appa’s captaincy, UCC entered the Coimbatore league winning the qualifying tourney in the mid 70s. While his appa’s throw downs at home was his first initiation into cricket, the big transformation in his cricket happened when the revered Audhi Chetty took over the coaching of Sri Venkateswara Paper and Boards (SVPB), a cricket team promoted by its owner M. Soundararajan, the Grand Son of the legendary industrialist GV Govindaswamy Naidu (who had founded the Sri Venkatesa (Textile) Mills in 1933). While AG Ram Singh had briefly coached the team, it was Audhi Chetty who played the pivotal role in the team emerging as a name to reckon with in TN cricket grooming young talent and turning them into cricketers, who delivered consistently on the ground.

A young Senthil with Coach Audhi Chetty

A young Senthil with Coach Audhi Chetty

64 year old Kanakaraj, who till recently worked for Robin Singh, played for SVPB (UCC) much before the stars came into the fold. He recalls Senthilnathan from the 1970s “His appa Mayilvahanan was a good cricketer and helped SVPB get into the Coimbatore league. He would bring Senthil along for all his matches in Coimbatore and that created an early interest for Senthil in cricket.”

The First Ball - Signalling his arrival to the City Boys

It was a City v Districts schools match in 1983-84 in Pondicherry. Left arm quickie from Vidya Mandir (Mylapore) Hemant Srivatsa (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/04/hemant-srivatsa-cricketer-of-1980s.html), now owner of Murrays Auction, in his first representative match was at his aggressive best picking up a wicket in his opening over. In walked a slim and shy lad from Udumalpet. Hemant recalls that moment close to four decades later “My first ball to Senthil was a good length inswinger and it came back in no time, shot past me and vanished into the boundary. It was as good a shot as one could play first ball. It was an amazing shot for his age. He was a classy batsman and the mainstay of our TN batting line up at the age group level for many years.”

The boy from Udumalpet announced his arrival on the cricketing scene with an aggressive style that was symbolic of him through that decade. From that day, he became a highly respected cricketer in the city circles. “District players have historically felt the pinch in TN cricket but this boy was not the typical timid village boy. He let his bat earn him the respect and through the 1980s he was seen as the best bat to emerge from the districts” says Hemant.

“I still remember his exceptional innings a year or so later against Paul Reiffel. Right then, I felt he had it in him to play for the country. He was a naturally gifted stroke maker and made batting look so easy. As a person, he was cultured and dignified right through the teenage phase.”

Impresses EAS Prasanna

Kanakaraj says such was his interest in cricket that he was on the run all the time “He travelled round the year and whenever he came to Udumalpet, he was welcomed like a star. In those days, stardom in cricket for a player from Udumalpet was unheard of and Senthil was the first real big star featuring at all levels in the age group tournaments. Even as a 14 year old, he began earning the respect of legends, the first of them being EAS Prasanna who was so impressed with his  century against Karnataka that he lauded the young boy as one ‘for the future’."

Given his great cricketing interest, Senthilnathan’s teachers took classes for him in the month leading up to the board exam to help him clear Class X. Similar was the scenario in Class XII as well as by then his life had become all about cricket. Senthil had emerged as a prodigious talent with remarkable aggression for a young boy. His fearless strokeplay left everyone stunned. Senthil attributes this natural ability to his genes “My thatha was a crazy cricket fan and would travel for every Pongal test. My appa and uncles were all cricketers who played for SVPB. Thus cricket came naturally to me from a young age. All the discussions at home centered on cricket.”

Senthil on the rampage – Chengalpet Forfeits

He began his league career in Coimbatore for SVPB (B) with strong knocks against SVPB (A) impressing the seniors in the team and then followed up with a good knock against LMW comprising of Kalli and KS Vaidyanathan. Against Ramakrishna Steel, the third big team in the first division he got a half century and soon became a regular member of the districts team. 

PR Ramakrishnan (Ramki), who was on the fringe of State debut for over 10 matches, had returned to Coimbatore in the mid 70s giving up serious cricket to pursue a career in Law. He was a districts schools selector from 1980 and watched Senthilnathan right from the time he was into his teens.  “He was an early entrant into districts cricket on the back of Audhi Chetty unearthing his batting talent. He was a class apart even at that early stage and had a sound defence and terrific strokes. When he was not yet 15, he made 180 in a match in Ooty.”

Former state cricketer and a key member of SVPB for two decades NP Madhavan, who himself played for Chengalpet in his early years before his move to Udumalpet remembers the match at the Forest College Ground “He was still in his mid teens when he made 167 for Coimbatore against Chengalpet. Senthil was on the rampage and once again dominating as he did on many occasions in the period between 1983 and 88. He was unstoppable that day."

                    Forest College - Chengalpet Forfeits- The Triumphant Cbe Team

The rivalry between the two districts was so intense in those years that an angered Chengalpet forfeited the match almost in a way to prevent Senthil from notching a double century, a rarity those days for a districts cricketer.

Another Udumalpet product UR Radhakrishnan, who played together with Senthil for SVPB and later for the state, saw a Rohit Sharma kind of fearless approach in him in the 1980s at the age group level. “He had class written all over him. He had a positive body language, never feared the opposition and made batting look so simple.”

When Trinidad and Tobago visited India, Senthilnathan tore into Ian Bishop who was to play for the West Indies through the 1990s during the course of a century. He followed this up with a couple of half centuries against the team that also included Brian Lara. On his 16th birthday, he took the heat on the touring Aussie U19 team comprising of future test players Paul Reiffel, Tom Moody, Gavin Robertson and Andrew Zessers. The back to the wall innings of 167 at Patna in the second U19 test made everyone at the national level take notice of this teenager. 

That year, he also went on a Bharath Reddy organised TN Colts’ tour to the UK. The team comprised of the who’s who of TN cricket and Senthilnathan was the only ‘baby’ in the team. SVPB owner Soundararajan saw the natural talent in Senthil and took special interest in him. Reddy recalls Soundar’s huge belief in Senthil’s talent “Soundar saw big potential in Senthil and was keen on an early overseas exposure for him. He agreed to fully sponsor his expenses for the entire tour.”

Senthilnathan remembers coming up against Courtney Walsh at Gloucestershire “It was a great experience to watch him bowl in English conditions.”

35years later Senthil has almost tears in his eyes as he recounts the contribution of Soundararajan “Ahead of that tour, he came to Madras and personally selected the jacket as well as the entire of dresses for me. He gave me all the confidence and exposure that a youngster could have asked for. By picking up Globe Trotters in the first division league in Chennai, he kept the SVPB team together through the year and helped us bond well as one family.”

Brijesh’s Mentoring Role

One the big developments in club cricket that decade was the roping in of Brijesh Patel by Soundararajan to captain and mentor the players at SVPB and later at Globe Trotters. Soundararajan had a business engagement with Brijesh’s family and thus secured Brijesh's services for SVPB. It was the biggest outside signing in TN cricket in that phase. Brijesh was a big influence on most of the SVPB players but his biggest impact was on the teenaged Senthilnathan “While Audhi Chetty taught me the basics of batting and laid a strong foundation, Brijesh inculcated in me the finer technical aspects on the field. I was very aggressive in those early days and wanted to smack every ball to the fence. He taught me the art of playing singles – a quiet flick to square leg of an off spinner and a glide to backward point of a leggie. He was also the driving force in getting me to run quick singles and converting ones into twos. He was easily my biggest influence on my batting in those formative years. And when I did something that was not in line with the team's thought process, he would let me know in no uncertain terms.”

One of his early memories of a big knock at the senior level was a 30 ball 60 in the Gurumurthy organised YSCA trophy (YSCA Guru) in front of Brijesh in a crucial knock out game against a star studded BUCC in front of a big crowd at the RKM ground in T. Nagar.

Senthil would rock for India - Audhi Chetty tells SVPB seniors

Opening batsman S Sukumar was one of the earliest recruits at SVPB and joined the Udumalpet team in the mid 70s. He has known Senthil from the time he was a 8 year old boy when he came to the SVPB nets to watch the seniors in action "He grew up watching star players like Brijesh (Patel), Peter (Fernandez), NP(Madhavan) and Robin (Singh). Guided by coaches like Ram Singh and Audhi Chetty, Senthil emerged as gritty cricketer from school days and leading India Under19 was a big achievement. Audhi Chetty used to constantly tell us that this boy would rock as a great batsman for India.”

A Notch above the rest

Middle order batsman RG Shyamsundar belonged to the same batch as Senthilnathan and the two of them played together for four years including at the U19 World Cup in Australia in 1988. He recalls the first time he saw Senthil “He came from a small town with no city exposure. In the city vs districts game, he played one cover drive and that one shot was enough for the selectors.  He did not score runs in that match but with just that one shot he stamped his class and left a lasting memory."

At the crease, he had a dominating presence. The moment he came to bat the opposition captain posted long off and long on, such was the fear he had created in the opposition rank across the country. Though he came from the districts and was a very shy and quiet guy in those early days, he controlled the city boys with his masterful stroke play. He was at least one notch above all of us and he earned the respect of each one of us through this batting display. At the U19 level, the most watched for contest was the one between him and Venkatapathy Raju. In Australia and other overseas locations, they expected a lot from him after watching him bat.”

Strong Performance in NZ 

End of December 1986, he made his first trip to Australia and created the first impression in them as a highly talented batsman though he did not make big runs on that tour. A year later, ahead of the U19 World Cup, the Indian team went to New Zealand for a test cum one day tour against a team that comprised of Chris Cairns, Chris Pringle and Shane Thomson. Senthilnathan did well in the test as well as the one-dayers. He says he was confident right through that season "I performed well on that tour and the confidence levels were high going into the World Cup."

 

Captains U19 World Cup

In the first match of the World Cup, Senthilnathan was once again blazing away in the run chase against England when bad luck struck and he was injured with a groin strain. As fate would have it, Nayan Mongia came in as the runner for the injured Senthil and within minutes ran Senthil out!!! While he played in the next match the very next day against Australia, he was not allowed a runner while batting and came down the order. He missed the match against Pakistan due to the injury. India lost both those matches. Continuing his good form from a month earlier from the Kiwi land, he struck another half century against them. The final match came down to run rate for India and they had to achieve the win at a fair clip to qualify for the semifinal. Senthil once again led the run chase with a strong start “We were up there at 95 for 2 and looking good. We were confident of chasing it down but collapsed and fell way short” says Senthil looking back on that day when Sanath Jayasuria batting in the middle order transformed the Sri Lankan innings at a time when they were likely to be bowled out quickly and dented India's hopes of qualification.

Mini Viv Richards of the time

Arjan Kripal Singh too was part of the TN, South Zone and Indian team with Senthil through those four years. He endorses Shyam’s view “Senthil was always one level up and a Master at that level. We were all in awe of his stroke play. He was almost a mini Viv Richards at that time (and this is no exaggeration). If you did not get him out early, he would tear into the attack. He was also a shrewd cricketer and tactically good.”

Big Endorsement from Vasu Paranjpe

By the time he returned, he was seen as a superstar. Captaining India was no mean feat and he was touted to go big.  Coach Vasu Paranjpe openly remarked that Senthilnathan was a player to be watched out. It does not come easily from a Bombay coach and this view endorsed the fact that he really belonged in the ‘class above’.

Unfortunately many things went against him in the following two years. 

Ranji Debut on a Square Turner

A couple of months ahead of the U19World Cup, he had made his Ranji debut against Karnataka on a treacherous wicket on which Raghuram Bhat was almost unplayable. UR Radhakrishnan, who also featured in that match, has sympathies for Senthil “He was in great form at that time and was well respected coming into the Senior Level. He was supremely confident. Unfortunately, his Ranji debut came up against Bhattaa on a treacherous wicket where even the more established batsmen struggled.” 

The only positive memory for Senthil from that match was him catching legend GR Vishwanath in both the innings. 

Bad Luck in the Ranji Final

On the back of having captained India in the U19 World Cup, he was handed out an opportunity in the historic Ranji final just a few days after his return to Madras. If the square turner undid him in January against Karnataka, the back of the short leg ruined the Ranji Final for him. Senthilnathan recounts as to how bad luck played a part a second time in the same year “I was confident that month after the World Cup and wanted to showcase myself with a strong performance in the Ranji Final. But my powerful pull ricocheted off the short leg's back to the wicket keeper. With the background of my performance in NZ and at the World Cup, if I had played a big knock in the final, things may have taken a positive turn for me at the senior level.”

But it was not to be. He failed again, for the third time in under a year for Tamil Nadu, this time in the famous Irani Trophy match that VBC won for the state with his blistering onslaught against Gopal Sharma and Hirwani playing a terrible slog in front of the national selectors at home. It was not the first and the only time that a bad shot went against him when it counted. He was in the squad to Western Australia but did not play the match.

Outstation Offers

1983-88 had been a great phase in his life with Soundararajan and Brijesh Patel playing a critical role in his cricketing growth and he was on top of the World with his elevation to the captaincy at the U19 World Cup. So impressed was Brijesh with Senthilnathan’s potential that there was a suggestion made for him to move to Bangalore so he could play for Karnataka in the Ranji season. Around the same time, there was a big offer from Air India to move to Bombay- an officer’s post and the possibility of playing alongside Sachin Tendulkar, Sanjay Manjrekar and Ravi Shastri. The cricketing fraternity in Bombay does not get impressed easily but when they do, it surely is a great endorsement especially if the player is from TN. They really felt that he had it in him and tried best to convince him that he would be an integral part of the team but despite his appa’s insistence to accept that offer, Senthil negated both and stuck to TN. 

Confidence Crushed in the crucial early phase

There was not much of mentoring in those years in TN cricket with each player left to his own. Former India cricketer and team mate at Globe Trotters through the 1990s, WV Raman is saddened at the way Senthil was handled but not surprised "Senthil was a phenomenal talent and one with great potential. The system in TN did not make it easy for him to survive. He was always made to feel on the edge, uncertain of his place in the team. That does not give a youngster the confidence to build a career. His debut was on a square turner. Spinners in the top teams in South Zone were top class. Very few came unscathed on such wickets.”

"There was no guidance on the way to transition from junior to senior cricket and the right way to approach batting at the senior level. At the very beginning, if he had got games on good pitches, he would have got the much needed confidence. At that young age, if things don’t go your way, you are made to feel not so good."

(Raman himself played a Board Presidents XI match and was made to sit the next day with the State team, such was the treatment meted out by the TN selectors of the time!!!)

“When an outstanding talent had to be motivated and taken care of, they crushed his confidence by treating him shabbily. A crucial year or two was lost in the process.”

“People did not understand him enough and (while I am not a psychologist) I think he felt quite desperate in that phase and did not know where to look for help.  At the Ranji level, he had to curb his stroke play but he did not learn to do it early enough. The worst part of that phase for him was that he was always under the threat of losing his place and that put a lot of pressure on his batting.  A combination of these factors led to this phenomenal talent not being nurtured. Such a huge talent amounting to nothing was disappointing. There was a bit of a settled look about the TN middle order and he remained unsettled in the Ranji team!!!”

"It always looked like it was three steps ahead and two steps back in his case. Nurturing and he system’s support is required in that crucial phase in a cricketer’s career. When you don’t get it, things can go terribly wrong. In his case it looked like he always asked the question to himself if he belonged to this stage."

TN failed to fast track Senthil

PC Prakash was part of the TN middle order in the late 80s and early 90s and had also been to the UK as part of the above mentioned TN Colts team in the summer of 85. He says that Senthil was an exciting batsman, technically sound but at the Senior level, there was always the issue of fitness against him  “A lot of the Ranji winning team played into next year and were in good form. As an U19 India captain, he could have been given a lot more chances in 88-89. He should have been fast tracked and given opportunities. He lost an important year or two when he was in a confident mood and raring to go.”

“As a 19-20 year old, who has achieved glory, there is a tendency to get carried away.There was also brashness in his batting. In that phase, he did not fully understand his game. Unfortunately he was not nurtured. Frankly, there was no guidance in those days. You were left to make mistakes and learn from those on your own. It was the bane of TN cricket.  After the highs of age group success, the early years with the senior state turned out to be a difficult phase for him. The transition from age group to state cricket did not happen in his case.”

On the Verge of India Selection

In April 1990, he played a scintillating knock of 97 in the Wills Trophy, a knock that came off just 60balls. Watching the knock, national selector GR Vishwanth remarked that a good knock in the next game against Wills XI comprising Ravi Shastri and Sachin Tendulkar would book him a place in the Indian team for the Australasia Cup that came up a week later in Sharjah. India was looking for a big hitting player in the middle order and he seemed to fit the bill. Senthilnathan was just one match away from getting into the Indian team. Unfortunately, he failed in that important moment in the final and was not picked. It was the closest he had come to national selection. And a golden opportunity had been lost.

However, the big runs in Ranji Trophy that was a hall mark of his age group days did not happen till he was into his fifth year for TN. In 1991-92, he scored over 500 runs including three good outings in the knock out phase. In the Quarter final against UP, he scored his first of his two Ranji centuries after TN had been rocked back on the first morning. His past reputation at the national level in junior cricket meant that his performances that Ranji season was immediately recognised and earned him an opportunity in the Deodhar and Wills Trophy. He did get a half century in the Wills Trophy but by then a new crop of youngsters had begun to emerge on the domestic scene.

The year after he slammed 189 against Assam in another knock out Ranji game. Once again, like a year earlier, it was a knock played after the top order had been run through on the first morning. Team mate from the 1990s and now Chairman of India U19 S Sharath credits him for carrying him through the double century partnership that they shared against Assam “I was on a lean patch and struggling for runs. And we had lost early wickets that day. It was Senthil who helped me build the innings talking to me almost after every ball. That was the innings that gave me the confidence. He may have made for a terrific white ball player.”

Globe Trotters team mate from the 1990s and now a coach with the Australian team S Sriram remembers him for his play against spin, the huge sixes he used to hit and the ability to spot good talent. 

Sekar secures him the Goan Opportunity

TA Sekar the architect of the MRF Pace Foundation helped him with a professional engagement with Goa in 1995-96 after TN failed to pick him. His first class career ended at the end of the season somewhat prematurely at the age of 27.

Former Bombay and TN Ranji cricketer, S Srinivasan, who too played for SVPB in the 1980s says that Audhi Chetty’s influence was written all over Senthil in that early phase “He was technically correct and an attacking and stylish batsman who played the inside out shot over Covers with ease. He had made it to the India U19 team based on the quantum of big runs he amassed but that dried up at the State level when he graduated into the Ranji team."

High Expectations

NP Madhavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/05/np-madhavan.html) had seen Senthilnathan from the time he was a 12 year old boy and has stuck to SVPB for the last four decades. He was someone Senthil looked up to in those early days in the 1980s Madhavan is particularly saddened that Soundar's big belief in Senthil's potential did not see the desired end result “Unfortunately during his playing days for the State, his reputation and performance did not match. He was a bold and brave cricketer and struck the ball fearlessly. It was a big achievement for someone from Udumalpet to play for India at the U19 World Cup. Soundar pinned all his hopes on Senthil and expected him to play for the country.”

“With his outstanding performance at the U19 level, there was great expectation of him. Youngsters did not get a long rope at the state level in those days in TN. He was a naturally gifted player, continued to dominate in the first division matches and was the backbone of Globe Trotters for a while. Towering Sixers became his hallmark. He was a really powerful bat and technically well accomplished but he did not do justice to his potential."

As exciting as Sachin

Raman says that cricketing greats such as Lara, Bishop and Caddick still talk about Senthil’s stroke play from 87/88 “They were all so impressed with his batting that they wondered as to how he did not rise up to the next level. In fact, soon after his return from the U19 World Cup, the cricketing fraternity was as excited about Senthil as they were with Sachin. He was really seen as one who had it in him to make it big for India.”

Soundararajan’s biggest cricketing disappointment

His performance for TN left Soundararajan really disappointed. He told this writer in a face to face interaction at his palacious home in Udumalpet that his biggest cricketing disappointment was the fading away of Senthilnathan “Senthilnathan was immensely talented and it was a great moment for all of us when he captained the India U19 team in Australia. He was fit as a fiddle in those early days and his fielding was a delight to watch. I was always confident that he would play for India and had given him all that I could to create the necessary cricket infrastructure.”

"His failure at the Ranji level remains my biggest disappointment in cricket.” 

The Second Innings

After his playing days, TA Sekar, who had been his mentor at MRF, handed him the role of a batting coach at Globe Trotters, a phase when he learned a lot from batting great Greg Chappell. A decade later when TA Sekar moved into the IPL, he was appointed as the Chief Coach of the MRF Pace Foundation, a moment that he considers as the biggest of his cricketing life. “It was a great honour to be working with legends such as Lillee, McGrath and (Greg) Chappell. I learned a lot from Greg on the technical aspects of batting, the clarity on going forward or back even while batting in the nets. Even at that age, Lillee will roar in and fire a thunderbolt at you at the Pace Foundation nets especially after you have hit him the previous ball. ”

NP Madhavan says that it came as a big surprise to them in Udumalpet that Senthil could fill in TA Sekar's shoes at the Pace Foundation "He has been able to keep that going successfully after Sekar for over a dozen years and that is a great achievement."

He was a beautiful village to international success story to be written. He captained not just TN and South Zone at the age group level but also India at the first ever U19 World Cup in Australia in 1988, something that was almost inconceivable for a village cricketer in those days. He was touted as the next big talent for India and it was to be a matter of time before he was to play for India. He had everything going for him in his teens. He attained stardom in a period of a few years. Everything seemed to come so easily to him in that phase. Team members and opposition alike were in awe of his natural abilities with the bat. From 'Mini Richards' to ‘as exciting as Sachin’, he was garlanded with accolades. He was on top of the World in early part of 1988. He was spoken of in such glorious terms that no other district cricketer had hitherto been spoken about. He was SVPB Soundararajan’s biggest hope in cricket.  By the time, he managed to find a regular place in the Ranji XI, he had lost his magic touch with the bat.

Later on with support  from TA Sekar, he emerged as a good batting coach for Globe Trotters and over the last decade has had the best phase of his life as the head coach of the world’s premier pace foundation. His playing career did not go as per plan but he has made up for that with his coaching contribution in his second innings in cricket being honoured with the most coveted and sought after posts in Indian cricket – the Head Coach of the MRF Pace Foundation interacting with legends DK Lillee, Glenn McGrath and Greg Chappell.