Tinu Yohannan named Ruby Kanchi Warriors head coach

CHENNAI: Former India pacer Tinu Yohannan has been named the head coach of Ruby Kanchi Warriors ahead of the second season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). Yohannan, who represented India in 3 Tests and as many ODIs, will have the company of his former Kerala state mate Ajay Kudua — the team’s batting coach.Interestingly, Yohannan was the head coach of Kerala state side at the recently-concluded domestic season. Ajay, on the other hand, is presently the coach of Kerala’s Twenty20 and limited-overs teams. The team management believes the addition of the two experienced cricketers will bring good results for the side in the upcoming season. Ruby Kanchi Warriors endured an ordinary season in the inaugural edition, finishing 7th in the 8-team competition. They managed to win just 2 games, and lost 5. Ahead of the season, the side has trimmed the squad by six players — M Shahrukh Khan, L Ganesh, S Siddharth, R Suthesh, Pradosh Ranjan Paul and Trilok Nag.The second edition of Tamil Nadu Premier League is slated to be held from July 22 till August 20. India Cements — who were the title sponsors last year — is likely to remain on board this season as well. The first edition saw an overall viewership crossed 50 million all over India, with 18 million in Tamil Nadu alone. The stadium attendance was over 1.75 lakhs. “We are sure that the upcoming season will only get bigger in terms of stadium attendance. Our tournament was a great success, and we received a fantastic response from our sponsors, advertisers and broadcasters,” pointed out a source.