Vijay Hazare Trophy: How ‘Make for Vidarbha’ keeps this team going

NAGPUR: For his 814 runs in the Vijay Hazare this season, Vidarbha’s Aman Mokhade was adjudged Player of the Tournament in Bengaluru on Sunday.

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“I channelised frustration into performance this year,” he said while accepting the award, inadvertently revealing one of the secrets behind Vidarbha’s success this season. “I didn’t get many chances last season. There is intense competition to get onto the Vidarbha playing XI,” he added.




For a small unit, both in terms of competitive leagues played as well as professional academies or clubs in fray, Vidarbha boasts of envious talent pool. Just like Vidarbha’s dominance in the domestic circuit — they are defending Ranji champions — the emergence of many talented players too is a result of years of a well thought-out process.

“We don’t get ‘readymade’ players like other big associations like 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 told TOI. For the last 15 years or so, Usman Ghani, the coach of Vidarbha senior team, has been a part of this process.

“These young players are products of our Vidarbha coaching system. Over the years, I have seen them grow together. I know their mindset,” Ghani said after Vidarbha’s triumph in Bengaluru.

Apart from ‘manufacturing’ players, the Vidarbha team management has also perfected the balance between backing talented newcomers and adopting a ‘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. 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 defence.

Ahead of the season, Vidarbha had set the target of winning one trophy in the shorter format. “This time we were confident of bringing home a white-ball format trophy," Ghani said.


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