23 years back, I left something back over here: MP coach Chandrakant Pandit after winning his 6th Ranji title
Madhya Pradesh created history on Sunday when they clinched the Ranji trophy, defeating Mumbai in Bengaluru by 6 wickets. The man behind their success, coach Chandrakant Pandit, must have also felt a cascading sense of relief wash through him. As tears started rolling down his face, he folded his hands as a mark of respect towards the Mumbai dressing room after the victory.
In the 1999 Ranji Final, Pandit, playing for Madhya Pradesh had been beaten by Karnataka in the final. It was his last professional game and he had lost it.
“23 years back, I have always felt that I had left something back over here so winning this trophy in this same ground was fabulous,” Pandit said in an interview to BCCI.tv.
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Congratulations to Madhya Pradesh – the @Paytm #RanjiTrophy 2021-22 winners. ? ?#Final | #MPvMUM pic.twitter.com/fUMcSIgHS9
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) June 26, 2022
“Missing out on this trophy when I was captain and to win this trophy (today) on the same ground (is indeed special. Some say father could not do it but son has done it so Aditya Shrivastava has done this tremendously,” he added.
With his latest triumph, Pandit has become the most decorated coach in the competition’s history with an unprecedented six Ranji Trophy titles.
So what makes him take up an assignment as a coach. “I think I always look for a challenging job where there are a lot of youngsters in the team. And probably the fact that I want to develop a cricketing culture in that particular state,” Pandit said.
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Madhya Pradesh beat Mumbai by 6 wickets & clinch their maiden #RanjiTrophy title? ? @Paytm | #Final | #MPvMUM
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/xwAZ13D0nP pic.twitter.com/XrSp2YzwSu
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) June 26, 2022
On choosing Madhya Pradesh, he said, ” I already knew the culture, having spent close to 6 years here when I was playing. So, when the offer came in March, I did not hesitate to accept the offer. I had left something here, 23 years back and God has brought me back to this state and has it’s such a divine coincidence to come back to M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and play the final.”
Talking about the challenges of handling a young side, Pandit said, ” Sometimes you feel there are a lot of talent there and they just need to develop the culture. Whatever the game demands, I tried to inculcate in them.”
The veteran coach was all praise for MP captain Aditya Shrivastava who he termed as an “astounding skipper”. He also singled out Rajat Patidar, Shubham Sharma and Akshat Raghuwanshi for high praise.
