Home-Bred Stars Power Vidarbha’s White Ball Triumph

Nagpur: There is intense competition to get into the Vidarbha playing XI. I didn't get many chances last season. I channelised that frustration into performance this year, said Aman Mokhade, who piled up 814 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT), revealing one of the secrets behind Vidarbha's success while accepting the player of the tournament award in Bengaluru on Sunday.For a small unit, both in terms of competitive leagues played as well as professional academies or clubs in fray, Vidarbha boast of envious talent pool. Like Vidarbha's dominance in the domestic circuit, the emergence of many talented players is a result of years of a thought-out process.
"We don't get ‘ready-made' players like other big associations, say Mumbai or Karnataka, who graduate to the senior level after grinding in various leagues. In Vidarbha, we make players. Special talents are marked at an early age. Then coaches work on their game, fitness and mental aspect," a Vidarbha Cricket Association official said. For the last 15 years or so, Usman Ghani, the current coach of Vidarbha senior team, has been a part of this process in various capacities. "These young players are products of our Vidarbha coaching system. Over the years, I have seen them grow together. I share a good camaraderie with these boys. I know their mindset; they are very confident and that's what we need as a team," Ghani told reporters after Vidarbha's Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph in Bengaluru. Apart from ‘manufacturing' players, the Vidarbha team management has also perfected the balance between backing talented newcomers and adopting horses for courses policy for the established ones. Mokhade, who also scored three First Class centuries this season, was given an extended run despite low scores. "Earlier in the season, Mokhade had a couple of bad matches, but we persisted with him because he is a good talent. He repaid our faith," Ghani added. The team management, though, doesn't flinch while dropping established names to get the playing combination right. Ahead of his semifinal exploits, Darshan Nalkande warmed the bench for a few matches. The message was clear: the team can't afford to leak runs in the middle overs. The prick to the fast bowler's ego worked wonders as Nalkande picked five wickets to derail Karnataka's chase as well as title defense. Before the start of the season, Vidarbha had set the target of winning one shorter format trophy. "This time we were confident of bringing home a white ball format trophy. The SMAT outing, though, didn't go well for us as we failed to reach the Super League," Ghani said. The early exit proved a blessing in disguise, a team member said. "It gave us extra time to revisit the drawing board and chalk out strategies afresh. The result is for everyone to see," he said. Having achieved the white ball trophy target, Vidarbha has shifted focus to the Ranji Trophy defense. Sitting atop Group Elite ‘A' with 25 points, Ghani and his men have set sight on another triumph.