Future starts here
By Duane Fonseca
Mumbai take on Andhra in Ranji opener; coach Pandit wants to build a good young side.
Mumbai coach Chandrakant Pandit is thinking long term. How else would you interpret a statement like “the focus is on the process rather than the result”. That is verbatim Pandit. Long term strategy is good thinking, particularly when you consider the team Pandit has inherited.
Considering Mumbai’s uncanny and relatively unfamiliar start to the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy, where the 40-time champions lost to promoted side Jammu and Kashmir by four tickets at the Wankhede, the approach is an endorsement of smart cricket, the kind that a master tactician like Pandit is known to play.
“We are thinking long term,” Pandit said before Mumbai’s season opener against Andhra Pradesh. “We ought to think of the future, build a side that will be around for years. If you see Mumbai teams, a lot of the experienced players normally end up playing for India and are missing during the domestic season, so it will be a good thing to build this young side.
“We have a lot of talent and the Mumbai selection committee has done a good job by giving us a good pool of young players to choose from. We have a very balanced side. It has a good amount of experienced players and youth that are coming in.”
While international commitments have ruled Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane out for the season, another stalwart to miss out is Wasim Jaffer, who has parted ways and joined Vidarbha. Then there is the case of impetuous Sarfaraz Khan, who has switched to Uttar Pradesh. Still Pandit is anything but perturbed by the absences.
“The departures and unavailability of players is a big loss, but we are fortunate to have Dhawal Kulkarni with us. Shreyas Iyer did well with the bat in last year’s tournament, but we aren’t looking to depend on any one batsman or any one player to perform,” Pandit said.
“The team has come together well. They have gelled well over the last few months and did well in the preseason, which should bode well.”
Another thing that should bode well is a piece of history. Mumbai have won two and drawn once in the three previous meetings between the sides. The past amounts for little though and the slates will be clean when the coin is tossed at Vizianagaram, where the forecast for the next four days is that of overcast conditions and intermittent rain.
bai captain Aditya Tare and his Andhra counterpart Mohammed Kaif were both reluctant to assess the pitch and how it could play, but it is plain to see that there could be something in it for the bowlers.
Kaif is expecting a good contest between bat and ball and is excited at the thought of playing Mumbai. “It will be good experience for the boys,” the former India international said.
“We have played on this ground in the past and those matches were good so you can expect a good contest between the bowlers and batsmen.” Tare echoed similar sentiments and is expecting an interesting contest. “They are a good side and the pitch looks good. It will be interesting to see how it will play. We will take a call on the team’s composition in the morning,” he said.
It is likely that both sides will be tempted to field five bowlers and given that Kulkarni and last season’s joint highest wicket-taker of the tournament Shardul Thakur are both fit and firing, the sun is likely to shine on the visitors.
Mumbai take on Andhra in Ranji opener; coach Pandit wants to build a good young side.
Mumbai coach Chandrakant Pandit is thinking long term. How else would you interpret a statement like “the focus is on the process rather than the result”. That is verbatim Pandit. Long term strategy is good thinking, particularly when you consider the team Pandit has inherited.
The ideology employed by Pandit is far from being result oriented and hence there is little or no pressure to perform. What there is, however, is an offering of immense space and freedom in which to work. And when that happens, very often, it is good performances and results that usually follow.
Considering Mumbai’s uncanny and relatively unfamiliar start to the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy, where the 40-time champions lost to promoted side Jammu and Kashmir by four tickets at the Wankhede, the approach is an endorsement of smart cricket, the kind that a master tactician like Pandit is known to play.
“We are thinking long term,” Pandit said before Mumbai’s season opener against Andhra Pradesh. “We ought to think of the future, build a side that will be around for years. If you see Mumbai teams, a lot of the experienced players normally end up playing for India and are missing during the domestic season, so it will be a good thing to build this young side.
“We have a lot of talent and the Mumbai selection committee has done a good job by giving us a good pool of young players to choose from. We have a very balanced side. It has a good amount of experienced players and youth that are coming in.”
While international commitments have ruled Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane out for the season, another stalwart to miss out is Wasim Jaffer, who has parted ways and joined Vidarbha. Then there is the case of impetuous Sarfaraz Khan, who has switched to Uttar Pradesh. Still Pandit is anything but perturbed by the absences.
“The departures and unavailability of players is a big loss, but we are fortunate to have Dhawal Kulkarni with us. Shreyas Iyer did well with the bat in last year’s tournament, but we aren’t looking to depend on any one batsman or any one player to perform,” Pandit said.
“The team has come together well. They have gelled well over the last few months and did well in the preseason, which should bode well.”
Another thing that should bode well is a piece of history. Mumbai have won two and drawn once in the three previous meetings between the sides. The past amounts for little though and the slates will be clean when the coin is tossed at Vizianagaram, where the forecast for the next four days is that of overcast conditions and intermittent rain.
bai captain Aditya Tare and his Andhra counterpart Mohammed Kaif were both reluctant to assess the pitch and how it could play, but it is plain to see that there could be something in it for the bowlers.
Kaif is expecting a good contest between bat and ball and is excited at the thought of playing Mumbai. “It will be good experience for the boys,” the former India international said.
“We have played on this ground in the past and those matches were good so you can expect a good contest between the bowlers and batsmen.” Tare echoed similar sentiments and is expecting an interesting contest. “They are a good side and the pitch looks good. It will be interesting to see how it will play. We will take a call on the team’s composition in the morning,” he said.
It is likely that both sides will be tempted to field five bowlers and given that Kulkarni and last season’s joint highest wicket-taker of the tournament Shardul Thakur are both fit and firing, the sun is likely to shine on the visitors.
