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By Paritosh Pramanik
VIDARBHA Cricket Association President Advocate Anand Jaiswal was elated with the performance of the Under-23 team which won the maiden Col CK Nayudu title defeating Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Friday.
The VCA chief was “fully satisfied” after the lone missing trophy was won by the Colts.
“Now the VCA’s cabinet is complete. We were missing the U-23 trophy. Now we have all, from Vijay Merchant to Ranji and Irani trophies,” said Jaiswal.
Jaiswal proudly said that the manner in which the team performed throughout the tournament is really praiseworthy.
“Proud of the boys. Specially the manner in which they played the entire tournament. On number of times they were down but they picked themselves up and came back strongly to win the matches. This shows their character. They are absolute deserving winners,” acclaimed Jaiswal while talking with ‘The Hitavada’.
Jaiswal felt that the future of Vidarbha cricket is bright and has a strong bench strength.
“The performance of Under-23 and Under-19 boys shows that Vidarbha cricket has a bright future. It has a good bench strength and good feeder line for the senior side in the number of years to come,” said Jaiswal.
Jaiswal lauded the support staff and the management for handling the situation efficiently when several players were shuffled with the Ranji team.
“The team management did handled the situation properly. Since past two-three years we have been successfully using players from U-23 side and at times from U-19 also and vice-versa. They did a great job in selecting balanced teams in the tournament,” added Jaiswal.
The president once again had a word of caution for the senior players and said nobody should take their place in the team for granted.
“Better be aware (seniors). Because the juniors are tapping at your feat. The more competition there is, the more performance there will be for people to retain their places in the team. Nobody should take their place for granted. Anybody performing well will be rewarded with a place in the appropriate team,” he said.
Jaiswal said the team will be felicitated for their title winning performance at a later date.
“We will definitely felicitate them later. We have postponed it due to coronavirus outbreak,” he concluded.
By Paritosh Pramanik
IT ALL started in the ‘Summer of 2019’. The seeds were sowed in the month of April and May when coach Trevor Gonsalves and his team along with VCA officials sat together to draw the roadmap. Those months of planning and players’ dedication bore fruit in the form of the maiden Under-23 Col CK Nayudu title.
The only trophy which was missing from Vidarbha Cricket Association’s overflowing cabinet, found its place on Friday when the side won the final defeating hosts Madhya Pradesh by eight wickets.
Coach Gonsalves was elated that finally his team managed to bring at least one trophy home after a barren 2019-20 season.
“It’s an amazing feeling. We have worked so hard for this day. But it was not easy past 11-12 months. Our planning started last year around April-May,” said Gonsalves from Indore after the title win.
It was not an easy ask for Gonsalves to keep the team motivated specially when 6-7 players were representing the Vidarbha Ranji trophy side.
“It was tough to keep the balance in the side. All through the tournament we were supplying players for the senior side. That’s why we started planning in advance. We were aware of our Colts playing for senior side and hence we started the backup team which helped us during the league matches,” revealed Gonsalves.
“It’s a sort of record that we gave seven players for Ranji Trophy and yet managed to clinch the CK Nayudu Trophy,” added Gonsalves.
The coach admitted that it was very difficult to keep the guys motivated when seven top players were not with the team.
“It was really difficult to keep the team members motivated when seven top players were not with you. We had to start from the scratch,” said the coach.
Such strong was the team combination that in some matches Mohit Kale, who was even named captain, had to sit out. But the motivational talks during summer and monsoon season helped keep the players motivated.
“It was very tough to keep the players motivated after they were left out of the squad. Player like Mohit had to warm the bench in a few matches.
“But the classes (motivational) we conducted during summer and monsoon season helped a lot in keeping these players pumped up,” said Gonsalves.
On the final, Gonsalves said motivating the players helped a lot. “On second night I asked them to do something extraordinary if they want to become extraordinary.
“I gave them example of Virat Kohli how he showed his exemplary skills to reach the top. They performed brilliantly today and the result is there to be seen,” said the coach.
Atharv Taide and Co stun MP inside three days n win title by eight wickets after conceding first innings lead
Principal Correspondent
TIME was running out but they had nothing to lose. After conceding first innings lead to Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha Under-23 team had two days to turn their fortunes. The ‘short’ period ignited the idea of ‘short stuff’ in the mind of coach Trevor Gonsalves. The pacers targeted the rib-cage of Madhya Pradesh batsmen and the hosts had no answer to the barrage of short balls.
In the end, Vidarbha managed to finish the game in a very ‘short’ time winning it by eight wickets inside three days.
The maiden Col CK Nayudu title win is sweeter as Vidarbha claimed the title after conceding a 31-run first innings lead.
A pep talk on second night with coach Gonsalves turned the tide in Vidarbha’s favour.
“We had a long session last night. We were anyway down and out. In the first innings, I saw Madhya Pradesh batsmen struggling a bit with shorter deliveries. We decided to target their rib-cage on the third morning. Our plan worked and they were bundled out for a very meagre score which we managed to knock off in no time,” coach Gonsalves told ‘The Hitavada’ after Vidarbha’s title win at Holkar Stadium in Indore.
On the third morning Vidarbha seamers Nachiket Bhute (27/3) and Aditya Thakare (14/3) bowled fiery spells to share six wickets between them as they crushed Madhya Pradesh’s hopes of lifting the Col CK Nayudu trophy.
Vidarbha decided to use one end with seamers and pressed the two left-arm spinners from the other. Harsh Dubey (11/2) and Mohit Raut (3/2) did not disappoint their coach as they too strangulated Madhya Pradesh’s batsmen with their tweakers as the hosts were all out for 60 runs.
The target of 91 was easily achieved with opener Taide scoring 32 runs and Nayan Chavan hitting an unbeaten 53 runs.
The hosts had a horrible start to their second innings. They lost their opener on the third delivery of the day when Parth Goswami was trapped in front by Bhute.
Thakare then accounted for the other opener Rishabh Choubey who managed only five runs before being caught by captain Taide in the sixth over.
Wickets kept on tumbling as the trophy started slipping towards Vidarbha dressing room.
There was hardly any partnership between MP batsmen and runs dried up.
The clever thinking of using seamers from one end and spinners from the other paid off for Vidarbha as Madhya Pradesh batters failed to adjust themselves.
From 41 for five their second innings folded up at 60 runs giving Vidarbha a target of 92 runs which the visitors managed in 23.1 overs.
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Retired stalwart ready to coach Vidarbha
n By Paritosh Pramanik
HE HAS inculcated the habit of winning in Vidarbha cricket. He has also converted the team of also-rans into title winners. Domestic stalwart Wasim Jaffer wants the team to continue in same way they performed in last 3-4 years.
With Jaffer in the fold, Vidarbha won two Ranji Trophies and as many Irani trophies for which even the 42-year-old batsman himself also is surprised. But Jaffer, who announced his retirement on Saturday, said he wants Vidarbha to continue their title winning acts and never lose hope.
“When I joined Vidarbha fold I had never thought that we would win a title. But the team performed really well and we won not one but two titles. I had never thought when I joined Vidarbha that I would play a Ranji Trophy final or an Irani final. I wanted to train the youngsters and pass my experience to them. But it was indeed pleasure to win two back to back titles. It was unreal for me to be honest,” Jaffer told ‘The Hitavada’ from Mumbai.
Jaffer was sure of a healthy future of Vidarbha with the age group teams performing well in past few years.
“The U-16, U-19 and U-23 teams are really doing well and I think they have great talent. I they should continue to get good coach like Chandrakant Pandit is with Ranji team. Even after Pandit, there should be someone to take the legacy forward,” felt Jaffer.
“It is very important to give these youngsters a direction. I think this is the topmost thing for Vidarbha cricket. The U-23 is playing final, the U-19 team has played final. I think the team is moving in the right direction and the same should be continued.”
Jaffer said the Ranji team should continue with the habit of winning. “Collective performance is must. At the end of the day we play to win and I think they should not forget this in future too,” said Jaffer.
The former Vidarbha cricketer said players should become a “Ziddi” cricketer.
“They should not gift their wickets. They should be “Ziddi” cricketers. They should feel gutted when they lose games and should celebrate when they register win.”
Jaffer is open to coach Vidarbha in future. “Definitely I would love to coach Vidarbha as I know many players and officials. It would be very easy for me to judge the players and officials,” Jaffer signed off.
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Wining four trophies with Wasimbhai was special: Faiz
n By Paritosh Pramanik
WINNING maiden silverware would be the best moment of life for any cricketer. But for Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal, who has won two back-to-back Ranji and Irani trophies, winning it along with First-Class Cricket’s stalwart Wasim Jaffer is the best cricketing moment of his career.
Faiz feels that the void created by Jaffer’s retirement would be difficult to fill but at the same time the Vidarbha skipper said life goes on.
“I would rate the maiden Ranji Trophy title win at Indore as my best moment with Wasimbhai. He hit those winning runs as we lifted our first Ranji title. It was really pleasing and satisfying,” said Fazal while talking to ‘The Hitavada’.
“Wining four trophies with Wasim is really praiseworthy. He is an institution in himself and his guidance has helped Vidarbha a lot. I would like to thank him for all the love and affection he has given to Vidarbha,” said Fazal.
Fazal said he was the most underrated cricketer in the country.
“Jaffer has played for India, for Mumbai and with us. But I think he should have represented the country on more occasions.
“He won a couple of titles with Mumbai and with Vidarbha. It was a great learning experience for me personally. I have learnt a lot from him, on and off the field,” said Faiz. “We are really honoured to play with Wasimbhai who shared all his experience with us which helped us in reaching this far. He was a big positive for Vidarbha. The best is we all loved his work ethics. The way he trained, the way he batted and the way he carried himself on and off the field. It was really great learning experience for all of us,” added Fazal.
“Everyone says Wasimbhai is very hardworking, elegant and God-gifted cricketer but I think that is not enough. He is what he is because of his hardwork, his work ethics and dedication. We can’t calculate for how many hours he has batted. It’s because of his hardwork he has reached this far,” remarked Fazal.
Fazal remembered how Jaffer has helped him during crucial moments of a match. “His inputs were available all the time and he always spoke for team’s benefits. He has always guided me and I think his guidance will always be beneficial for me whenever I lead Vidarbha team again. He was like a big brother for me,” said Fazal.
Fazal was aware of the void created but the skipper said that the team has learnt a lot when he was with them.
“I can’t say what will happen now after his departure. But one thing is sure that we all have learnt a lot from him. I am sure it won’t be easy for anybody to fill in his shoes but as we can see after Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli came....,” Fazal concluded.
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I always loved his commitment. I always saw him unhappy after getting out...whether on a single digit or after scoring 200 runs. He would always think why he got out? It didn’t matter for him whether he had scored 200 runs. He always used to think ‘why I got out’. He was always hungry for runs. There was no celebration even after scoring those mountain of runs. He was not satisfied at any point while batting. He always used to think that he should have continued batting in the middle.”
— Anand Jaiswal, VCA President
“Wasim has played a very big role in Vidarbha’s success. He was a big help for the youngsters and entire team both on and off the field. I wanted to inculcate that (Mumbai) culture in Vidarbha cricketers and Wasim played the role of facilitator very well. He was a bridge between the youngsters and me. He was a huge support me.”
— Chandrakant Pandit, Vidarbha coach
