I helped them play, and they played: Pandit on Vidarbha team

Vidarbha Ranji team may not be a chimera for other squads, but these days it is a griffin. There was a time when it was almost isolated and abandoned in the domestic cricket. But in the last two years the team has transformed itself from nothing to something. And the credit goes to its coach Chandrakant Pandit.

"System. This is all that I did. I just ensured things to happen in system," said Pandit in a telephonic interview with IANS.

Pandit, who prefers to remain behind the curtain, said: "I made them toil hard and it reflected in their performances. Now even the senior Indian players say other teams should learn from Vidarbha".

Appreciating players' spirit, Pandit said, "they knew how to dance, I just made them dance".

"Though my techniques are different and I am a bit strict, but it was needed. Someone told me medicine tastes bitter but we'll have to consume it," he remarked.

"Members of every team play, they all have potential. I just changed their mindsets to boost theior confidence. I told them we'll play only to win. I prepared them psychologically," he said.

"You can not do anything alone. If I asked them to do something, they followed my words. Hence, we tasted the victory," he stressed. "I also want to give credit of this amusing journey to one man, Wasim Zafar," he emphasised.

"Zafar introduced me to players and them to me. It really helped. His assistance was necessary for me. We hail from same culture, where we learnt what is "khadoosness" (rudeness). We were taught you will play, only to win, and it maximum depends on how do you play," Pandit recalled.

Talking about his earlier day with Zafar, Pandit said: "When I was Mumbai's coach, he was with me. He knows about me that's why he helped players to understand me. He is experienced and use to give advise to young players. Hence, he played a key role".

"Many times, when players were afraid to approach me, they would contact Zafar. He worked as an interpreter. This helped me understand players and then I personally talked to them. That helped them and also me to improve," he said.

"Since when they have started winning, they have started to trust on me," he concluded.

--IANS

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