File picture of (left) Assam Ranji coach Rajesh Kamath with batsman Dheeraj Jadhav in Guwahati

Guwahati, Dec. 12: Assam Ranji team coach Rajesh Kamath has listed several factors, including lack of spinners, as being responsible for the dismal show by the state squad in the plate B league campaign that ended on Friday. The state finished at the bottom of the tally with only six points.

The BCCI level III coach, who was in Bangalore when The Telegraph called him up this afternoon, felt the lack of experienced spinners was the primary factor for the team’s poor show, which was further compounded by injuries.

“The biggest problem we faced was the lack of an experienced spinner. We have lost matches because we did not have spinners in the attack to defend winning totals. We had a different spinner in every match and most of them were not experienced enough to handle the pressure of this level of cricket,” Kamath said.

The lack of a spinner was indeed a setback the squad faced right from the word go. After off-spinner Arlen Konwar was called up to do the duty for his employer, the Railways, in the elite group, Assam hardly had anyone to replace him. Though Chennai professional J. Syed Mohammad was recruited to don Assam colours, he had to opt out in the last minute with an injury.

Assam had moved the BCCI for an extra guest player and the latter had granted it as a special case. Kerala discard Sreekumar Nair was the only available option and Assam decided to try him against Goa where his worth proved nought.

The season saw Sekhar Jyoti Barman, Roshan Alam, Prakash Bhagat, Prasanata Sonowal and Deepak Gohain tried alongside skipper Sharma and part-timer Tajinder Singh in the spin department. However, the youngsters could hardly give able support to the Mumbai Indians paceman Abu Nechim Ahmed whose aspiration for a national side berth suffered a setback with a poor tally of only 14 scalps from five matches compared to his counterparts from other parts of the country.

“There was a lot of pressure on Abu who was the only experienced bowler in the team. Though Krishna Das had staged a comeback after an injury, he was not in his best form. Abu had to bowl more than he was supposed to. Besides, there was none at the other end to give him the necessary support,” Kamath explained. Ahmed hauled five wickets against Goa and Jharkhand, including a hattrick against the former.

“The unavailability of professional recruits was another big setback. Had there been an experienced professional as a spinner in the side, the bowling attack would have been a balanced one,” the coach said. On the batting failure by the side barring Dheeraj Jadhav who tallied 704 runs, including five centuries, Kamath said it was the pressure factor faced by inexperienced hands.The shoulder injury to Chennai professional R. Sathish in the Champions League T20 was a setback which Assam could not overcome throughout the season. He was fielded only in one match against Hyderabad where he further aggravated his injury, to be rested for the rest of the season.

“The situation on most occasions was six men having to do the job of 11 as most of the players in the side were new. They could have made it had they got the exposure of some more matches,” the coach said. “The youngsters in the squad, however, have immense potential. They need some exposure and more match practice.

The addition of a couple of experienced professionals, including a good spinner, can help the side qualify for the elite group next season,” the coach added.

Altogether 23 players, including seven rookies, represented Assam in the campaign. Youngsters like Arup Das, Sekhar Jyoti Barman, Roshan Alam, Deepak Gohain, Pallab Das and Utpal Medhi made their debut.