When Chandrakant Pandit faced Vidarbha bowlers!

NAGPUR: Chandrakant Pandit has always believed in leading from the front. He has never shied away from the challenges in his playing days. Now when he is coaching, Pandit is showing the way to his boys.
When he took over the Vidarbha reins last year, Pandit, also a former India wicketkeeper, came up with proper planning of what he wanted Vidarbha to achieve. His meticulous planning helped Vidarbha win their maiden Ranji Trophy title.
Pandit wanted his wards not to waste their efforts so he demonstrated how it's done. At 56, Pandit batted against frontline Vidarbha bowlers during match simulations before the season and taught them nuances of batting.
"It was after 20 years, Pandit batted against First Class bowlers. The idea was to show the batsmen how they can plan their innings. How they can play against the new ball and how they can see through if any bowler is bowling a good spell. It was surprising to see when he came in the middle properly padded up. Nobody had any idea what he was going to do. Everyone was surprised when he asked bowlers to bowl normally and not let their intensity drop," a source in Vidarbha Cricket Association told TOI as the team prepares for the forthcoming Irani Trophy, which begins from March 14.
Pandit faced Lalit Yadav - the quickest after India pacer Umesh Yadav - and others with ease. "He batted almost for 45 minutes and also hit some delightful boundaries against pacers. He had instructed the umpire to rule him out if he is plumb in front or edged behind. He showed Vidarbha batsmen how to take quick singles. Basically, how to get runs even when the conditions aren't favourable. It was a great learning experience for our boys. It also helped bowlers to maintain proper line and length and keep the pressure on," the source added.
Pandit not only batted but fielded for the whole day in the slip cordon. "He wanted to show boys how to plan during the game and maintain intensity. He wanted them to observe opposition batsmen in the middle and set proper fielding against particular batsman. He also told the boys how to keep 'pressuring' opposition batsmen. Besides, all players were closely watched by Pandit. They knew even if they played loose shots in the practice sessions, they would not be spared," said the source.
Pandit kept the intensity up right from the day he came into Vidarbha fold. The match simulation sessions were one of the reasons of Vidarbha's success this season. He wanted those practice sessions to be meaningful. "He would stay in umpire's position in all match simulation sessions along with bowling coach Subroto Bannerjee. The boys were given the plans before the session and both would closely watch the execution part," he said.
The team played aggressive and positive cricket throughout the season. The idea was to prepare well and feel pressure during the practice in such a way that match situations became easy. Vidarbha were in a spot of bother in their all three knock-out matches but they managed to come out of those difficult situations.
"It was the result of those intense practice sessions and planning," said the source.
Expect the same intense sessions when Vidarbha players get back for the Irani Trophy against Rest of India.