“There should be some fear in the player, otherwise he will not do what he is supposed to do. And he knows that if he does not act according to the plan, he will have to face Sir’s wrath,” veteran Madhya Pradesh quick bowler Ishwar Pandey says.
Planning and self-discipline – that, basically, is coach Chandrakant Pandit’s philosophy. The former India wicketkeeper-batsman has guided one other facet not used to creating summit clashes – Madhya Pradesh on this case – to their first Ranji Trophy remaining in 23 years. Having gained back-to-back titles with then-unknowns Vidarbha three years in the past, Pandit is now up towards his ‘home’ crew Mumbai, whom he coached to their final title in 2015-16.
Pandit is famed for his hard-taskmaster type, and painstakingly-prepared plans that brook little interference from both captain or bowler. During a Ranji semi-final towards Karnataka, he had taken away the telephones of the Vidarbha gamers, anxious that they could preserve checking them late into the night time and lose focus. There are tales of him not being averse to slapping the odd participant who broke a legislation he’d laid down. It is that this side of his teaching that will get performed up essentially the most, however there’s probably a technique behind the distant management, and it has labored for years now.
Pandit is famed for his hard-taskmaster type, and painstakingly-prepared plans that brook little interference from both captain or bowler. (File)
“Both go hand in hand, the planning and discipline,” says former India and Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar, who performed below Pandit’s teaching. “All his plans require a specific amount of talent and self-discipline. He tries to include sure life expertise that can assist gamers on the sector. Ranji Trophy is a format wherein every individual can play a task and you’ll management the sport. He understands and assigns roles to gamers very early within the season. But to fulfil these roles, be it enjoying a sure variety of balls, or enjoying in a sure type, his ideology of self-discipline comes into play.
“It also goes hand in hand with the analytical work on what the opponents have done in the past and what they do now,” Nayar provides. “He (Pandit) needs freedom to pick the kind of players he wants and then he gets the results that are desired by the association.”
Both Vidarbha Cricket Association and now the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association have given Pandit the leeway to run a good ship, and have reaped advantages.
“Chandu developed the entire strategy and planned the practice sessions,” former India opener Wasim Jaffer, who was a part of the victorious Vidarbha facet, had informed this correspondent as soon as. “He gave everybody confidence. Kisiko pyaar se samjhaana, kisiko daantke samjhaana [Convince some with love, some with scolding].
“That is the role of the coach. It is nothing new for him, he has been doing it for so many years. And Vidarbha needed somebody like that,” Jaffer had stated. “Today’s youngsters need someone to pull them out of their comfort zone and he did that to a great extent, without a doubt.”
Tough act to comply with
It is a good rope another home coaches have tried to stroll, unsuccessfully. Push too arduous, and one can lose the respect of the dressing room. Nayar doesn’t see that occuring with Pandit. “Because he takes responsibility for his actions and does not blame the player when things go wrong,” Nayar says. “If you follow him blindly and fail, most likely he will take responsibility. That gives a player security. And when you keep playing finals, you obviously grow as a player.”
Pandey, who took 11 wickets at a mean of 20 till he bought injured earlier than the knockouts, was one who benefited from following Pandit’s directions. Into his twelfth 12 months of first-class cricket, Pandey says he loved the “very different experience” from what he’s had until then in his profession.
“He is excellent at reading players. He’ll assess the strong and weak points of an opposition batsman and then make us bowl accordingly. So it becomes easier for us, and we don’t have to try too hard to make things happen,” Pandey says.
“I am someone who operates more on a disciplined line and length rather than looking to attack. So, he says you have three options for dismissals – bowled, caught behind and leg-before. Just keep bowling on a proper length, that is essentially what red-ball cricket is about anyway. And bowlers who have more pace than me, such as Puneet (Datey), (Gaurav) Yadav and Kuldeep (Sen), they have a different role obviously.”
Of course, there’s to be no swaying on the sector from the trail set by Pandit, until he himself sends in a phrase asking for a change in ways.
“The planning is done in front of everyone and the team follows it, ki bhai ye karna hai aur kaam khatam [we have to do this, and nothing else]. It is not like the bowler will do what is in his mind and the captain will be thinking about something else,” Pandey explains.
“Like if you must preserve a fielder at a sure place, you must. It could take a while to get the consequence, however the course of must be gone by. If it doesn’t work, he’ll ship in a message with one other plan. He depends rather a lot on messages, that one thing goes to occur now, so change the sector for this supply, and so forth.
A advantageous all-round bowling show from Madhya Pradesh helped them full a 174-run win over Bengal on Day 5 of the @Paytm #RanjiTrophy #SF1 & safe a spot within the #Final. 👏 👏 #BENvMP
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“Sir asks us to stick to the basics of the game, and not try to think too much,” Pandey says.
The draw back to this micromanagement method is that those that are used to pondering and expressing their ideas an excessive amount of may at instances discover it arduous to suit into this surroundings. And those that have develop into used to being fed plans could by no means develop sufficient to start out pondering on their ft.
“See, there are many players who also operate at their best under instructions from others. Some, in fact, derive motivation from getting instructions as they are dependent on inputs from others,” says former Madhya Pradesh captain Devendra Bundela, who was the facet’s batting coach earlier than Pandit took over.
“He (Pandit) has his own way of thinking, but his overall understanding of the game is remarkable,” Bundela provides. “There may be some who don’t like his working style but then, he also gives you the results, and you can’t really argue against that.”
Says Nayar: “For each good, there’s a unhealthy. A participant who needs to develop will develop, and a participant who doesn’t need to is not going to. I at all times say if every part is nice about somebody, he isn’t attempting to make an impression, he’s simply attempting to be within the system lengthy sufficient to outlive.
“Chandu sir is a very brave person, he takes the onus on himself to control all the controllables. And the results he has given over the years just prove that there are a lot more pros than cons to his style of coaching.”
Unique type
Nayar, who was into the final quarter of a stellar home profession when Pandit coached Mumbai, says that his takeaway was how Pandit used self-discipline to deliver the gamers collectively. “Sometimes you can be the villain in the team, and that can help the team get together. And he is happy doing that, being this strong headmaster and everyone rallies against him. Not a lot of people can do that. He does not play safe,” says Nayar.
The final time MP performed the ultimate, in 1998-99, Pandit was their captain. A younger Bundela, who would go on to develop into the third-highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy historical past, was a part of that facet, and remembers the backing he bought from his skipper.
“You have to give confidence to players, especially the young ones, who can be hesitant to begin with and can easily get overwhelmed. If they get support at the start, it makes a lot of difference to them,” says Bundela.
“I remember when I was young, Chandu bhai supported me a lot, ki jaao aur bindaas khelo [just go out and play freely]. His presence has made a lot of difference to this team; in the past couple of years, their self-belief and confidence has increased after talking to him,” Bundela provides. “Nothing is possible without hard work, and he has been doing exactly that in the background with this team.”
Pandit has himself acknowledged previously that his strategies may not work at worldwide stage, however Nayar calls him the Ranji Trophy “king”.
“No one can come close to him there. He has figured out how to win championships,” Nayar says. “It is one thing to win a championship with a strong team, it is another to win with a team that has never won before. He is undoubtedly the best first-class coach in India.”