Bengaluru, Aug 13 (IANS) Former India right-arm pacer Vinay Kumar has been appointed as head coach of the Karnataka senior men’s team for the upcoming 2026/27 domestic season, said the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) on Thursday.
Vinay, 42, takes over the reins from Yere Goud, who joined the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru as a batting coach. Ex-Karnataka batter Deepak Chougule joins his support staff as the fielding coach.
This will mark Vinay’s maiden stint as Karnataka’s head coach. He previously coached the Hubli Tigers in the Maharaja T20 Trophy and served as bowling coach for MI Emirates in the ILT20. Following his retirement from all formats in 2021, Vinay also worked as a talent scout for Mumbai Indians in the IPL and commentator for Star Sports Kannada.
Vinay represented India in one Test, 31 ODIs, and nine T20Is. He was also part of IPL-winning campaigns with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014 and Mumbai Indians in 2015 and 2017. He remains the highest wicket-taker among seamers in Ranji Trophy history with 442 wickets and stands in the fourth spot on the all-time list in India’s premier red-ball tournament.
In a first-class career spanning 139 matches, Vinay picked up 504 wickets at an average of 22.44. As captain, Vinay etched his name in domestic cricket folklore by leading Karnataka to an unprecedented ‘double-treble’ – winning the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, and Irani Cup back-to-back across the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons.
Karnataka, who finished as Ranji Trophy runners-up in the last domestic season, are set to kick off their 2026/27 campaign against Andhra on October 11. Former Karnataka and Vidarbha batter Ganesh Satish has been appointed as U23 men’s coach, while former player Kunal Kapoor, who was working with the U16s for the past few years, is now U19 men’s coach, and SN Ameet will serve as senior women’s and U23 head coach.
–IANS
nr/bsk/
