To win the coveted Ranji Trophy was a dream come true-like feeling for ex-Vidarbha skipper Anil Deshpande
To win the coveted Ranji Trophy was a dream come true-like feeling for ex-Vidarbha skipper Anil Deshpande. This former national selector (1998 to 2000), who played 62 first-class matches from 1970 to 1983, reckoned it was Faiz Fazal & Co's hunger to win and team's coach Chandrakant Pandit's thorough guidance that made the difference for the new Ranji champions.
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Anil Deshpande
"When I met the players on the eve of the game in Indore and wished them good luck, I saw the hunger in their eyes to win this major title. They were very confident. I watched the first day's play and returned to Mumbai, but had planned to be in Indore for the last day to witness the winning moment. However, they did it in just four days," Deshpande told mid-day yesterday.
While highlighting Pandit's performance as coach, Deshpande also credited another Mumbai stalwart — Wasim Jaffer as well as the young team. "Chandu worked a lot on them and they reacted positively with a tremendous performance. "I also told Chandu that this is a case of Mumbai's loss and Vidarbha's gain. He also wanted to win badly. It's a great achievement and dream came true for Vidarbha. It's a very good team and Chandu made it a fighting unit. Of course, Jaffer and Ganesh Satish were there, but the other boys contributed equally well. Credit should go to skipper Fazal, who led from the front and the young bowlers gave him the desired result," Deshpande said. Deshpande, 65, wants to see Pandit as coach for another couple of years.
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