Vidarbha coach Trevor Gonsalves: I am stepping into very big shoes

Trevor Gonsalves

Vidarbha Cricket Association preferred a local coach for the senior team as they replaced two-time Ranji Trophy-winning coach Chandrakant Pandit with former pacer Trevor Gonsalves.

However, Gonsalves, 48, who guided the Vidarbha U-23 outfit to the Col CK Nayudu Trophy triumph earlier this year, admitted it's a tough job to replace a coach of Pandit's stature.

"I am stepping into very big shoes there's no doubt about it. The expectations are very big," Gonsalves told mid-day from Nagpur on Tuesday.

In his three-year stint with Vidarbha, Mumbai-based Pandit guided the Faiz Fazal-led team to back-to-back Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup titles (in 2017-18 and 2018-19) before joining Madhya Pradesh as head coach this season. "It is a challenge, but I have been working with these players, so I know everybody inside out. Eight to nine players are in the Ranji squad from my U-23 team," remarked Gonsalves.

Gonsalves, who has represented Vidarbha in 12 first-class games, is optimistic of proving his mettle in his first assignment as the senior team's coach during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to be held from January 10. "It's a totally different ball game. Chandu [Pandit] was an expert in the four-day format and this is T20. Because of the ongoing lockdown there has been no team activities and time [to prepare] is also very short, so that's the main challenge. We did not stop our work and fitness for a single day right from April 1. Throughout the lockdown we were doing training online," added Gonsalves.

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