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Future Vidarbha players will start believing if we win Ranji Trophy: Coach Pandit
Vidarbha coach Chandrakant Pandit believes a win in the Ranji Trophy final will inspire future cricketers from the region and they will back themselves to succeed.
Vidarbha coach Chandrakant Pandit has said winning the Ranji Trophy will be great but more importantly, it’ll instill self-confidence in the budding cricketers from the region that they can also become champions.
Before Vidarbha defeated Karnataka to qualify for their maiden final, their best performance was in 2002-03 and 2011-12 when they reached the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy Plate Group.
In his first stint as Vidarbha coach, Pandit – who has won multiple titles with Mumbai -- has infused lot of discipline and work ethic into the side. It shouldn’t come as a surprise as he belongs to a Mumbai system known for grooming khadoos (dogged) players.
“I belong to a culture where the habit of winning matches was more,” Pandit told Hindustan Times ahead of the final against Delhi.
“Of course, a final is a final. It’s an achievement for me with a team like this, who have shown tremendous faith in themselves to come forward.
“It’s not all about winning this championship. The most important thing is future Vidarbha cricketers will start believing. That’ll be the happiest moment for me during my tenure here. Hopefully, the upcoming players will have their role models. And yes, Indian cricket will also flourish.”
Vidarbha, like opponents Delhi, are unbeaten in the tournament. But unlike Rishabh Pant’s side, the Faiz Fazal-led team has registered more outright wins this season.
If thrashing Bengal by 10 wickets and Goa by an innings and 37 runs wasn’t enough, the victory over Kerala by a humongous 412-run margin in the quarterfinals would’ve silenced many doubters.
And Chandrakant Pandit said their innings and 117-run win over the Yuvraj Singh-led Punjab in the tournament opener was the turning point for Vidarbha.
“The way we played was simply wonderful. They had quite a few big names (Yuvraj, Manan Vohra, Sandeep Sharma) in their side. We got seven points in that game. That start was really important for us,” Pandit, who played five Tests and 36 ODIs, added.
Asked if big-game pressure is a problem, he said: “We are just trying to follow our routine and looking at this as just another game. We would like to play hard cricket, like we have done so far. We are confident of our abilities. Maybe, at the back of our mind it’s a final, so it’s a different scenario. But it’ll all come down to how good we perform.”
