Rajesh Kannan Ranji Debut

In the mid 90s, after a terrific start to the 1st division league season, Rajesh Kannan was on the verge of a debut in the Buchi Babu and had nourished dreams of making it to the Ranji squad but his name was knocked out at the last moment. Just over 25 years later, he is set to make his Ranji debut in his second innings in cricket later next week.  Over the fortnight, he is likely to umpire three Ranji matches in the group phase including at the Eden Gardens, Calcutta. It is a great recovery of sorts mentally for him after having gone through a tumultuous phase in the last two years. 

Rajesh kannan had slogged for over two decades first as a player and then as a manager of the Bank’s team. Later when he took to umpiring and began officiating in lower division league matches, he would get back to his branch at the end of a long day on the cricket field to complete his bank work for the day though he was on leave that day. That was his commitment to the bank. 

The passion that existed while playing continued once he took to umpiring. His love for the game once again took over and with great sadness he called it a day at the Bank. This writer was also present at his farewell function (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/08/bcci-umpire-quits-iob-after-25years.html). 

But as luck would have within six months of him quitting the bank, the Pandemic struck and he had to make do with long walks with this writer at the Nageswara Rao Park (the above photo was taken during one of those walks). For the best part of two years, most of the age group matches had been cancelled leaving Rajesh Kannan wondering often in his terrace about his decision to quit the bank. He was literally counting the stars.

However for a man who had always placed his employer above everything else and the kind of feedback he received from the customers of the bank over a long period of time, good luck had to come back. And his patience and perseverence has been rewarded this February with the call from the BCCI and the posting for the league phase of this year’s Ranji matches. 

A couple of years back he had moved into the top  80 in the BCCI list of umpires and after a clean chit in the few matches he did in 2020-21, his performances warranted a move further up on that list leading to this Ranji call.

Though he cherished dreams of playing for the state, he had to be contented with match winning performances for the bank in a phase when they won the Palayampatti shield and were strong contenders in the one day format. 

He need not any longer rue his decision to quit the bank and wonder if it was an (in) appropriate call. Rajesh Kannan continued to dream big in cricket and the call to officiate in the Ranji Trophy is the first big moment in his umpiring career. If the commitment that he showed as a player for IOB over a long two decades period is any indication, it is likely that he (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/06/rajesh-kannan-bcci-board-umpire.html)will go up the ladder in his umpiring career. 

Rajesh Kannan has come up the hard way slogging his way to the top. His graduation to the Ranji Panel is a reward for his commitment to cricket over the last thirty years.

This section will track his performance this Ranji season.