Sanath Kumar (born 12 December 1962) is a former Indian first-class cricketer and the former head coach of Assam, Karnataka and Baroda.
He identified the potential of Hardik Pandya who used to bowl leg spin at that time, as a fast bowling allrounder while coaching Baroda[1] Kumar was a right-arm medium pace bowler who represented Karnataka cricket team in 11 first-class and 4 List A matches between the 1985/86 and 1988/89 seasons.
[3]Hardik Pandya started bowling relatively late, Initially, he dabbled in leg-spin, but it was coach Sanath Kumar who saw his potential as a fast bowler.
[4] After the 2013/14 season he quit his role with Baroda, citing the need to "spend time with family" as the reason for the decision.
[3] Kumar had also served as an assistant coach of the Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore.