More than victory, need to build self-belief: Pandit
INDORE: Vidarbha coach Chandrakant Pandit has said winning the Ranji Trophy will be great but more importantly, it’ll instill selfconfidence 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 entered the semi-finals of the Plate Group.
In his first stint as Vidarbha coach, Pandit – who has won multiple titles with Mumbai -- has infused discipline and work ethic. 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.
“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. 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 412-run margin in the quarter-finals 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,” said Pandit, who played five Tests and 36 ODIS. 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.”