Soon after Faiz Fazal lifted the coveted Ranji Trophy for the second season in succession, the home team celebrated for almost an hour before the captain and coach Chandrakant Pandit settled down for an interaction.
While the duo was understandably pleased with the team’s performance, even Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat had every reason to be proud despite ending on the losing side.
Excerpts:
It is not that easy to win the Ranji Trophy. To win a four-day tournament, that too having played 11 games is not a fluke. If anyone feels Vidarbha’s first title was a fluke, we have proven them wrong. Strict discipline is a routine we are following for two years. It was not about preparing well so that an individual can perform well, but about performing because we wanted to win the trophy. That direction changed us, from individual performance to a team goal.
— Faiz Fazal, Vidarbha captain
When we first met with the probables before 2017-18, we could judge three types of players: one who thinks of being selected, one who is happy to be in the team and one who wants to play higher class of cricket. That study helped us. We gradually started developing the team. The mindset changed [to] the winning mindset.
— Chandrakant Pandit, Vidarbha coach
Any loss would be disappointing, but I don’t think it’s more painful than the last two (final losses in 2012-13 and 2015-16). The fact is we played such good type of cricket. I have been saying that the brand of cricket we played and developed this year has been special. It’s this group, it’s this special bunch of players that have really done so well.
— Jaydev Unadkat, Saurashtra captain