“I used to play for my school but had no club … it was one of those days when I went to watch a league match with friends. Before the start of the match, Jolly Rovers (Madurai) skipper, late Soundararajan, asked me to get ready for the game as his main spinner did not turn up. That’s how it began …,” says Venkat, as he is fondly called.His father, who played for his employers Rallis India but couldn’t make it to the state or national team, was a big influence in his life. After making it to the first division league in Madurai, Venkat was spotted by former Indian skipper Kris Srikkanth, who advised him to relocate to Chennai.”… I came to Chennai in 1991 and started playing for YMS. After two seasons Chika asked me to join Alwarpet CC,” says the man who played one Test and one ODI. Venkat, who earlier failed to make it to U-14 & U-16 levels, directly got selected for Tamil Nadu U-19 team and impressed with some brilliant performances.

“… after I got selected for U-19 state team, things started falling in place quickly and I made it to the state Ranji side within three years. I was a regular in the state side and my performance (794 & 1-106) in the 1987-88 Ranji Trophy final against Railways caught everybody’s attention. It was a very proud moment for me,” adds Venkat, who played 75 First Class and 30 List `A’ matches.

The lankly offie, who got into the ODI side against New Zealand in 1988 and made his Test debut against West Indies the next year, feels lack of guidance was one of the reasons why he could not play for India for a long time.

“I was not in a position to hire a personal coach and received no help from others when I was going through bad patches. When we went to New Zealand my bowling was not up to the mark despite having a very good domestic season. I could not find my rhythm and there was no one who could help me get back my tempo …,” says Venkat.

From 2007 to 2012, Venkat coached the Singapore cricket team and returned to Chennai after BCCI appointed him coach of the Zonal Academy in Chennai.

(A weekly column on famous sport spersons whose first playing field was Chennai and its neighbourhood)

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Krishna Kanta Chakraborty, TNN / September 27th, 2014