Chandrakant Pandit was certainly a great choice: Sulakshan Kulkarni

NAGPUR: Chandrakant Pandit is like a bitter pill. In corporate terms, he is a go getter. He has the art of getting work done. The 56-year-old guided Mumbai to their 41st Ranji title in 2015-16 and had it not been Parthiv Patel's brilliant knock, they could have won the 42nd title too last year.
When Pandit took the charge of Mumbai, they were struggling and were facing wrath of former players.The former Indian stumper turned the fortunes of young team. However, he was shown the doors earlier this year.
Mumbai's loss, however, became Vidarbha's gain. While Mumbai just about managed to secure the knock-out berth in the last round, Vidarbha had confirmed the last-eight stage with a round to go. They had four bonus point victories, two of those came against fancied sides like Punjab and Bengal.
For Sulakshan Kulkarni, Pandit's former Mumbai teammate and ex-Mumbai coach, it didn't come as a surprise. He was always confident about Pandit's ability as a coach.
The duo has been together since their Under-19 days and has mutual respect for each other. In fact, Pandit-fondly known as Chandu in cricketing circuit-was in Mumbai's Cricket Committee which chose Kulkarni as a coach in 2011.
"Chandu was certainly a great choice by Vidarbha. His track record is exceptional. He has an eye for talent. He has the capability to utilize the available resources to optimum.
"Look what he did with Mumbai in the last two years. He is a result oriented coach. I expected this performance from Vidarbha," Kulkarni, who also coached Vidarbha Ranji Trophy and Under-19 teams between 2009 and 2011, told TOI.
"He was a very shrewd captain. His decision making was very good; he was always very discipline and he enjoyed responsibility.
"Wherever Chandu went, he delivered the goods. When he was the captain of Madhya Pradesh, he took them to finals when they were just a decent team. He has won the Duleep Trophy as a captain and coach," said Kulkarni.
"In early 2000s, he guided Mumbai to twin titles. Mind you, they weren't the great side then. They had batting problems but with the likes of Ajit Agarkar, Vinayak Samant, Sairaj Bahutule, Paras Mhambrey, Ramesh Powar in the lower order, Chandu managed to win the titles. He won the championships with weak teams. It shows the character of the man," he added.
Many players and officials are critical about Pandit's functioning but Kulkarni sees no harm in his former teammate's disciplinary approach.
"A good medicine tastes bitter. He is a team coach. He always thinks of team first. He is a task master or you can say he is a head master. I won't call him a modern day coach. The likes of Ramakant Achrekar and Vasu Paranjpe weren't too friendly with the players but still they produced quite a few Test and quality First Class cricketers.
"Look how Vidarbha batting has evolved this year? How many in the country knew R Sanjay before this season. Look at the Faiz's (Fazal) performance. He is converting his starts to big innings. It's Chandu's effect. He pushes batsmen to score daddy hundreds," he said.
Kulkarni feels the combination of Pandit and Wasim Jaffer can take Vidarbha all the way. "Earlier, their aim was to qualify for the knock-outs. Now, they must be thinking about the trophy.
"Fortunately, they have men for the job. Chandu and Wasim (Jaffer) have won many championships. Their experience has played a vital role till now and will be crucial from here on.
"Wasim's comeback is fantastic. He played almost 60 overs against Goa to score 150 odd. It shows, he is still willing to grind. It's a lesson for the youngsters. They must be learning great things from him," Kulkarni signed off.