11 Facts about the Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun

Bharat Arun, the former Indian pacer has been appointed as the bowling coach of Indian team will be working with the new Indian head coach Ravi Shastri until the World Cup in 2019. Arun didn’t get a warm reception from the fans across social media and a few experts as he was appointed ahead of another former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan.

The 54-year-old had credentials to back his appointment as he acted as the Indian bowling coach for nearly two years before Anil Kumble took over as Indian head coach in 2016 and played a crucial role in the development of the current crop of Indian bowlers.

Here we look at some of the facts about the new Indian bowling coach.

1. Birth and cricket career:

He was born on December 14th, 1952 in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh and went on to represent Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket as a right handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler.

2. Good allround record in first-class cricket:

He featured in 48 first-class matches in his career and scored 1652 runs at an average of 30.59 including 3 centuries and picked up 110 wickets at a healthy average of 32.44.

3. Under 19 career:

Despite being a part of the India Under-19 team for various tours, Arun featured in only one game for his side. He played his only U19 match in 1981 against England under Ravi Shastri’s captaincy.

4. International career:

Bharat represented India in 4 ODI games and 2 Test matches in his career between 1986 and 1987. He picked up 1 and 4 wickets respectively in international cricket.

5. Debut in Tests and ODIs at the same venue:

He had a rare accomplishment of making his Test and ODI debut at the same venue. Even the opponent was the same – Sri Lanka. The matches were played at Kanpur’s Modi Stadium in December 1986. Till date, only 8 Indians have made their Test and ODI debut at the same venue. Only Maninder Singh had done it before Arun.

6. A slippery start in Test cricket:

He picked up 3 wickets in his debut Test but while running in to bowl the first ball of his career, Arun slipped and fell down in his bowling stride. He was one of the two bowlers (based on available datat) who slipped while bowling their first ball in international cricket. T Kumaran had a similar start to his career in an ODI in 1999.

7. Start as a coach:

Arun’s coaching career began in 2002 with the Tamil Nadu domestic team where he served as the head coach for 4 years. He helped TN secure a finals spot in the 2003 and 2004 Ranji Trophy seasons. He later went on to become the bowling coach at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in 2008.

8. Coach of India Under-19 team:

He also has the distinction of coaching the Indian Under-19 team which went on to win the U19 World Cup in Australia in 2012 and also the 2014 squad that was knocked out in quarters and finished at No.5 in the tournament.

9. IPL stint:

Bharat Arun was appointed as the assistant coach of the IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2015. He served them in the capacity for the last three seasons.

10. Success in Hyderabad:

He took over as the coach of Hyderabad domestic team for the 2016/17 season; the side was all tatters and finished at No.26 in 2015/16 Ranji Trophy. He guided them to new highs as they made it to the quarterfinal in the previous edition of the Ranji Trophy. During his tenure, Hyderabad pacers Mohammed Siraj, Chama Milind and Ravi Kiran collectively picked up 110 wickets in just 9 Ranji matches.

11. Bowling coach of Indian national team:

Arun was appointed the as India’s bowling coach in August 2014 and held the position till the end of the World T20 2016. He has been appointed in the same capacity in July 2017 and will be with them till the conclusion of World Cup 2019.