E-Paper
Think neutral, play neutral: Pandit’s mantra for Mumbai
MUMBAI: Even before the Ranji Trophy season kicks off on Thursday, the anxiety of encountering the unknown has gone a notch higher this time as compared to previous
MUMBAI: Even before the Ranji Trophy season kicks off on Thursday, the anxiety of encountering the unknown has gone a notch higher this time as compared to previous seasons.
When the Mumbai Ranji Trophy captain Aditya Tare came to collect his kit bag and team jerseys before leaving for Lahli on Monday, where the defending champions will take on Tamil Nadu, the uncertainty of playing on neutral wickets for the first time ever loomed large on the wicketkeeper-batsman’s face.
What perhaps has been most challenging for Mumbai coach Chandrakant Pandit is to transform his players’ mindset. The pre-season preparation was not just about getting the technique right or working harder on fitness, it was more about having the right frame of mind before the season begins.
THE MANTRA
“We developed a mantra for the players ‘play neutral, think neutral’. This was emphasised every day in one way or the other in our training. I want the players to not think about the wickets at all as they approach the season as there is no point stressing over what kind of a surface we will get. Why waste our energy and efforts in that direction? Instead, I trained them to have an open-minded approach,” Pandit told Hindustan Times from Lahli on Tuesday.
Playing the Ranji Trophy on neutral venues was suggested by the BCCI’s Technical Committee head Sourav Ganguly. The aim is to discourage the practice of preparing wickets suited to the home team’s strength.
Former India skipper and current India U-19 & ‘A’ team coach Rahul Dravid had urged the BCCI to prepare domestic wickets that would help develop Indian players and not just decide a winner.
WICKETS LEFT ALONE
Pandit is already experiencing a change in the approach to the wicket during his two-day stay in Lahli so far. “There are not too many people around the wicket; both teams practice and leave. It is only the curator and groundsmen who are seen working on the wicket. There are not too many people hovering around the wicket. However, it can be different at different venues. Who knows?” said Pandit.
There is also a change in his players’ approach. “The players were jittery at the start when the neutral venues were accepted. Earlier, the players would ask for inputs to play on a particular wicket. That is not the case now. I don’t want them to go in the match with a pre-determined mindset that ‘okay the wicket is going to turn or bounce or seam’. They have to play on the ball on its merit. Confidence in one’s ability and quickly adapting to the conditions will be the key,” said Pandit.
