Transforming cricket in Vidarbha, and how!

“A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” This might seem to be a normal quote, but what attracted me to it is the deep meaning it holds for an achiever, particularly a sportsman. The cricketers from Vidarbha must be realizing the importance of this quote after engraving their names on the coveted Ranji Trophy for the first time. They saw a big dream and realized it with dedicated team effort along with some strategic thinking by one of the seasoned campaigners and coach, both of them hail from ‘city of dreams’. It is not that the cricketers from Vidarbha saw this dream for the first time. Ever since it started competing in Ranji Trophy 60 years back (1957-58 season), the players dreamt of getting hold of the trophy. I had privilege of looking the team from close since I started following the game, from a spectator to sports reporter to a well-wisher. All earlier players who captained the side such as Suhas Phadkar, Hemant Wasu, Praveen Hingnikar, Preetam Gandhe to Manish Doshi (apologies for missing some names), all gave their best to build a team that can win the title, but it was not to happen and the title kept eluding Vidarbha cricket. The current team, however, gave a different direction to the way the cricketers look at the game in this part of the world. Chandrakant Pandit and Wasim Jaffer, the two stalwarts of Mumbai cricket, along with skipper Faiz Fazal enthused a sense of belief within the players which gave an altogether different meaning to the team in starting its ‘campaign’ so as to reach the pinnacle, which is holding the trophy. It was not only these two gentlemen who believed in the players’ abilities, but the young bunch of cricketers also gave a confidence in their ‘mentors’ by performing on the field par excellence. If I have to quote Fazal verbatim after the team’s emphatic win against Delhi at Indore on New Year day, then it will go like, “It was a dream that we all saw together and with the support of my team mates and coaching staff, I am happy to realise the same”. The over three month Ranji Trophy campaign bore fruit for the team and have put Vidarbha in an extraordinary league. I am not sure as to how many players from this side will get themselves selected in the national team, but one thing is sure that they have carved a niche for themselves and caught the eyes of selectors as well as administrators. Long live cricket in Vidarbha, which gave India its first Test captain in Col Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu.