BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia [Source: AFP]Months after the Cricket Association of Pondicherry (CAP) U19 coach, S Venkataraman, faced an alleged attack by three local cricketers, the coach finds himself in trouble. The Judicial Magistrate in Pondicherry has now directed the police to register an FIR against him.The initial FIR was filed against the players, Jayasundaram Karthikeyan, A Aravinddaraj and S Santhosh Kumaran, who have all represented Pondicherry in the Ranji Trophy. However, matters have become a bit complicated now after one of the players alleged that Venkataraman escalated the situation on the day of the attack.Why did the players attack Pondicherry coach?The incident happened on December 8, 2025, at the CAP complex where the aforementioned players attacked Venkataraman. The victim claimed that it was due to their non-selection in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy squad and suffered a head injury and a shoulder fracture.After months had passed, yet no action was taken against the coach, who allegedly abused and picked up a bat to attack the players, Karthikeyan reached out to the Judicial Magistrate-IV with a petition.“Venkatraman abused them and picked up a bat and attacked them. We committed no deliberate assault. The players sustained injuries and underwent a medical examination at a primary health centre,” Karthikeyan’s advocate, M Sabari Selvam, told The Indian Express.Also Read: Punjab Kings' Shashank Singh Switches To A New Team For 2026-27 Domestic SeasonPondicherry coach faces FIROn the same day of the attack, which led to Venkataraman's hospitalisation, Jayasundaram Karthikeyan went on to file a complaint against the coach. But no action was taken, and in turn, the police proceeded to act upon Venkatraman’s complaint.“We filed a complaint with the Sedarapet SHO and SP (North) on the same day of the attack. The police only acted on the complaint they later received from Venkatraman,” the advocate said.“The court direction was pronounced last month, and an FIR was registered against Venkatraman by the Sedarapet police last week. We have also lodged a formal complaint to the BCCI and the CAP, requesting an enquiry and immediate suspension of Venkatraman,” he added.What is CAP's stand on the attack?Following the unprecedented situation in the Cricket Association of Pondicherry Complex, the cricketing board took a few months to investigate the matter. Then they took action against the three players involved in the summer.In April 2026 — roughly 4 months after the attack was carried out — all three players were suspended from all cricketing activities by CAP for “a grave criminal case, including charges of attempt to murder and assault Mr Venkataraman.”Notably, the 32-year-old Karthikeyan has previously played a solitary Ranji Trophy match for the state, scoring 1 run in two innings, alongside 17 runs in 3 List A matches and 9 runs in two T20 matches.A Aravinddaraj has represented the state in 4 FC matches, 5 List A games and 15 T20s, scoring 51 runs and picking 16 wickets across formats. Lastly, S Santhosh Kumaran has played 1 FC game and 2 T20s, with only two runs and no wickets in his domestic career.The coach has previously been the CAP joint-secretary from 2019 to 2022 and served as coach in the Pondicherry Premier League as well as in a couple of Ranji games.Also Read: England Player Set To Return For Pakistan Test Series After Injury
