NEWS
Follow UsChandrakant Pandit’s history with the Chinnaswamy Stadium is a one filled with regret and sorry. The 60-year-old, 23 years ago, lost a Ranji Trophy final as Madhya Pradesh’s skipper at the very same venue. However, this time around, he has not just guided the MP boys to a final but also has ensured that they are on the winning side.
Pandit’s coaching tales are sacred in Indian cricket, he has been involved in numerous winning campaigns for Mumbai, Vidarbha and now has taken that glory days to Madhya Pradesh as well. After winning the final against Mumbai, the veteran called it a blessing and insisted that winning the trophy feels fabulous.
“It is a great memory that I had left 23 years back (he lost the Ranji Trophy final as MP captain in 1998-99) and it is a blessing that I come back here, and winning this trophy was fabulous. It is emotional because I missed out as captain on the same ground,” Pandit reflects on the win.
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“I owe this trophy to Madhya Pradesh. I would like to thank all the well wishers, the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association and Madhavrao Scindia.”
Despite winning two titles with Vidarbha, the 60-year-old wanted to test himself further, moving to Madhya Pradesh. The former Mumbai batter stated that he did not hesitate because he felt like there was a job left to be done with MP.
“There is no a particular reason but I look for a challenging job where the teams are not doing well, there also should be youngsters and to develop that particular state. I used to play for MP and played for them for six years, I knew the culture and when the offer came to me in March, I did not hesitate. There were a couple of offers but I chose MP because I had left something 23 years back and God willingly brought me back to the same state,” he opened up on the move to MP.
“Sometimes the talent is there but you need to develop the culture and whatever the game demands I try to inculcate them. Aditya has been an outstanding captain, the plans and strategies we discuss, he was not afraid to implement them on the field. The captain makes the team win 50 percent of the time and he did a fantastic job even though he wasn't getting runs,” Pandit lauded MP skipper, Aditya Shrivastava.
A young captain rising to the occasion
𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧. 𝗔. 𝗪𝗜𝗡! 👏 👏
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) June 26, 2022
Madhya Pradesh beat Mumbai by 6 wickets & clinch their maiden #RanjiTrophy title👍 👍 @Paytm | #Final | #MPvMUM
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/xwAZ13D0nP pic.twitter.com/XrSp2YzwSu
Aditya Shrivastava, who led the team ably from the front despite lacking full resources, expressed his delight over his maiden Ranji Trophy win and insisted that it is a “moment of a lifetime”.
“Completely ecstatic. Generation kind of time has gone by since MP has won the Ranji Trophy for the first time. It is the moment of a lifetime for me. The emotions are deep, we are trying to laugh it out but we are extremely emotional from the inside,” Aditya stated.
The middle-order batter also revealed that the team stuck to the process and that has got them over the line in the final, against an experienced and well-oiled Mumbai side.
“This has been my first year as captain and whatever I know about leading a side is from Chandrakant Sir. I would like to continue this. The stage is going to get to our mind but we have to stick to the process, that is what has got us here and will keep us here. That is the mantra we were speaking about in the meetings too.”
“It is a good group coming through as we have been playing together from 2013. There is a good mix of youngsters and experienced players. Doing it once was not at all easy but it is going to be tougher to do it again.”
