Bharat Arun: India's gain is Hyderabad's loss

HYDERABAD: Team India's gain is Team Hyderabad's loss. The appointment of Bharat Arun on Tuesday as bowling coach of the Indian team has deprived Hyderabad of the services of the former India player.
Arun, who was last year appointed as coach of the Hyderabad Ranji team, was instrumental in helping the side not only reach the quarterfinals but also move from the Plate to the Elite Division for this season.
With the Hyderabad side not performing well in the last few years and a couple of players including former skipper GH Vihari moving to neighbouring Andhra, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) president Arshad Ayub managed to convince Arun to coach the Hyderabad team. Ayub also got in another India player S Badrinath to lead the side.
Though the decisions were roundly hailed as detrimental to Hyderabad cricket, Ayub stuck to his guns and had the last laugh. The team, under the leadership of Badrinath and guidance of Arun, did beyond expectations. The youngsters responded well to the challenges and Hyderabad marched into the quarterfinals with some sterling performances.
Arun's hand was most visible in the way the medium pacers shaped up. The trio of Mohd Siraj, CV Milind and Ravi Kiran looked quite different under his care. They were responsible many of Hyderabad's notable performances. Siraj, in fact, went on to bag a lucrative deal in the Indian Premier League with the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The new set of office-bearers in the HCA made wholesale changes in the coaching set up of the state teams and also the Hyderabad Cricket Academy of Excellence (HCAE). The services of former Indian player MV Narasimha Rao, who was the director of the HCAE, was terminated.
However, the officials showed a deep interest in retaining the services of Arun. "He has done a terrific job with the senior team and we desire that he continues to be with the team," HCA secretary T Shesh Narayan had remarked.
In fact, the new officials wanted to rope in Arun as the HCAE director in place of Narasimha Rao.
However, Ravi Shastri's moves have put paid to Hyderabad's aspirations. The search now is on finding a replacement for Arun. Sources said that the officials are looking at a few candidates and should be finalising one of them soon.