Chandrakant Pandit has played the most important role in our Ranji Trophy campaign: MP's Shubham Sharma

“Fortune favours the brave”. This is very appropriate for someone like Madhya Pradesh’s Shubham Sharma who had come out to bat during the second innings of the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 final against Mumbai while he was in severe pain. Shubham had a nasty collision with captain Aditya Shrivastava while the two were trying to stop a boundary during Mumbai’s second innings. Sharma was on the ground in pain and was off the field for a while. No amount of pain was going to stop Sharma as he popped a few pain killers and walked out to bat when his side lost an early wicket during the 108-run chase in the final innings. Sharma notched up a century in the first innings that helped the side take the first innings lead and put MP in a strong position. Expressing his delight over the contribution, the right-handed batter said that he is satisfied after making an important contribution for the team. “We are really happy with the performance. Making a valuable contribution in a winning cause gives you a lot of satisfaction,” he told Firstpost.com in an exclusive conversation. “We had a simple plan and that was stay at the crease for a long period of time and capitalise on the scoring opportunities as much as we can.” The Ranji Trophy 2021-22 was held in two phases where the knockouts were held in the later stage. Asked if the halt had affected the preparations, Sharma said that the team had rigorous preparations before the resumption that really helped them. “We had rigorous preparations before the tournament was resumed and that helped us to come in the groove,” the right-hander said. Chandrakant Pandit who coached MP in this edition won another title in the capacity. Talking about his role, Sharma hailed Pandit for his methods and the kind of understanding that he has of the game. “He works on old school methods. He is someone who gets the best out of the players. Moreover, he is someone who would help the player to rectify his mistakes. “Apart from this, he plans everything very minutely, whether it is about the team composition or the opponents. He has played the most important role in our winning and successful campaign,” Sharma said. Sharma helped the side come out of a tricky situation in the second innings with a 75-ball 30 but got out when the side was in striking distance of the win. Quizzed about the same and the chat he had with the coach after the dismissal, Sharma said, “we had almost won the game and that’s why I went for that stroke. That, eventually didn’t work and I got out. When I had a chat with him afterwards, he told me that the stroke I played wasn’t really required at that stage.” Puneet Datey who had missed this all important final was in good touch but Sahani was the one who was included in the final XI. Later, Shubham revealed that Datey had got injured during the Bengal match and wasn’t fit to play in the titale clash. “Puneet Datey had a suffered side strain during the Bengal match. He bowled in that match but later, when he went for the scans, we got to know that he can’t really play the final,” he said. “It was Chandrakant sir’s decision to play Sahani in place of Datey in the final,” he added. Talking about the track in Bengaluru, the MP batter suggested that it was overall a good track but had something on offer for the spinners on the final two days. “The track was assisting the spinners a bit on the last two days and the bounce became uneven. But overall, it was a good track for both the bowlers and the batters.” The Madhya Pradesh unit is full of match winners who have chipped in with crucial individual performances at important junctions. While the captain Aditya Shrivastava didn’t really have a great time as far as individual performance is concerned, the strong-headed skipper led from the front and executed the plans very well on the field. In-form players like Rajat Patidar, Saransh Jain also chipped in with valuable contributions in the side’s winning triumph. “I feel Aditya Shrivastava is very strong mentally and has got a good composure. Moreover, sir kept him involved in everything that he actually didn’t get any time to sit and think about his own form.” “Akshat Raghuwanshi is naturally a stroke player and the team management and all of us have given him a free hand. We have asked him to play his natural game and that certainly has helped him. Saransh Jain has a very crucial role to play. I feel someone who bats at number seven is an integral part of the team because his contribution plays an important role in the side’s total score. If he can chip in with some extra runs, the tally goes up. At the same time, if he can pick up a wicket or two then that’s just a boon.” Talking about Patidar, Sharma said that IPL outings worked in favour of both the right-hander and the team as he looked in sublime touch in the knockout stages. “The kind of knocks that Rajat Patidar played in the IPL boosted his confidence. He looked totally in form and if the side has someone like him in then ranks, the team’s morale is always high,” he said. Shubham also lauded the spinners and admitted that their performances never let the side come under any kind of pressure. “If your spinners are performing equally well as your fast bowling unit, that adds up. The team is always confident because of this. You are never really on the back foot because you are certainly confident that if your fast bowlers are not getting wickets, the void can be filled up by the spinners,” he concluded. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. 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