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PCA secretary basks in India team’s World Cup triumph glory
Khanna, who made news when the PCA’s Mullanpur Stadium hosted five IPL matches a few months ago, was the manager of the Indian team and also the BCCI representative for the World Cup
For Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) secretary Dilsher Khanna, the recently concluded T20 World Cup in the United States of America (USA) and the West Indies (WI) turned out to be the most memorable experience of his life. Not only did Dilsher become part of India’s glorious cricket history but was also able to experience and see how the Rohit Sharma-led team remained unbeaten despite tough conditions in both the US and Caribbean, winning the T20 World Cup.
Throwing light on the atmosphere in the Indian dressing room throughout the tournament and also during the final match Khanna, 33, who joined PCA as an office-bearer almost two years ago, said, “The Indian team always remained calm and the fact that each and every cricketer in the team knew their respective role paved way for the success. In addition to this, professionalism was at the peak due to this approach the team remained unbeaten in the tournament and eventually turning the tide in their favour in the final.”
Khanna, who made news when the PCA’s Mullanpur Stadium hosted five IPL matches a few months ago, was the manager of the Indian team and also the BCCI representative for the World Cup. He played a key role in completion of the delayed-Mullanpur stadium project before the IPL and also coming up with Punjab’s first Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup last season.
It was his first outing with the Indian team and he made most of the exposure.
“I thrilled when the BCCI gave me this role. Usually, we at PCA are habitual to be on the other side and organise domestic and international matches. The BCCI secretary Jay Shah was encouraging and backed me to do justice to the new role. I have learnt a lot from this experience and most importantly become part of history. The reception back in India has been phenomenal for the team,” added Khanna, who also praised the Indian captain Rohit for being an ideal leader.
“Rohit Sharma played a captain’s role to perfection and made sure he was available to everyone in the team. He is a natural leader and his know-how about the game is exceptional. And his individual knocks of 91 against Australia and 57 against England speaks volumes about his swagger as a batter. India winning the World Cup has a lot to do with Rohit’s ways as captain on and off the field,” shared Khanna, who is also a trained pilot.
The BCCI has announced ₹125 crore reward for the victorious Indian team and the support staff.
To be part of the dressing room and to witness the preparation of world-class cricketer like Virat Kohli for the final was a very different experience for Dilsher. Kohli could not fire with the bat in the tournament but in the final played a match-winning crucial knock of 76 runs against SA.
“Virat is not called a world-class batter like that. He never looked uncomfortable or uneasy in the tournament for not being able to score big knocks. His preparations were top-notch and his body language was very positive. He kept on hitting the ball well in the nets and the captain along with the coach were always backing him. I think it comes naturally to the big players that a big knock is needed from them in crunch matches. That’s what he did in the final,” felt Khanna who also lauded coach Rahul Dravid’s contribution for team’s success.
“He is a top-notch coach. His aura and genuineness makes a player have self-belief. It was phenomenal to see him celebrate with the trophy and express himself, which is a rare sight. Virat and Rohit were elated to see this along with others,” added Khanna.
