Chandrakant Pandit starts public speaking for Vidarbha players to overcome fear factor
Chandrakant Pandit has started a public speaking for all age group players from Under-14 to seniors and women in Vidarbha cricket to overcome the fear factor. The process has been lauded by the officials of the state association and they praised Pandit for taking up the planned initiative.
Vidarbha Cricket's transformation from a mediocre domestic side to a two-time consecutive Ranji Trophy champion is a story worth celebrating and at the heart of it, is a man who is known for strict and regimental work ethic. Chandrakant Pandit's affinity to structure everything properly has seen another process being added to his method as he now started a public speaking for all age group players from Under-14 to seniors and women in Vidarbha cricket to overcome the fear factor.
"When you speak in front of people, it boosts your confidence and critical thinking. You need proper preparation before speaking. You need to have clarity of thoughts because if you speak rubbish nobody is going to listen to you. So, it helps in all-round personality development of a player," a source in Vidarbha Cricket Association told TOI.
"Pandit has been doing this for the last 20 years while coaching at different levels in different states to India 'A' and India Under-19. Last year, he was concentrating only on Ranji Trophy. This year, he is looking at overall Vidarbha cricket. When he floated this idea, we were glad to start this. We want our players to be confident human beings in future. Public speaking will not only help them grow as a player but also as a person. Look at somebody like Faiz (Fazal). How well he speaks whenever he is invited to address. Umesh (Yadav) has improved his communication skills to a great extent in the last few years," the source added.
This has been done to ensure that the players come from small districts and villages in Vidarbha shouldn't be felt left out. Earlier, when former VCA president Shashank Manohar conceptualized the residential academy way back in 2005, he wanted trainees to have all-round growth. For some reasons, the academy couldn't conduct these programs that time and Pandit is actually making it happen.
"This will benefit small-town players. When they come to Vidarbha set-up, they are generally in awe of everything they get to see. Most of them are quite shy. It takes some time for them to mingle with other players. Many city players are also introvert. All we want is to improve their self-confidence and lateral thinking and remove the fear of failure. Many times players have great ideas and understanding of the game situation but they are shy to speak out. Their silence sometimes hurts the team. This exercise also allows them to form friendships and understand the value of interpersonal relations," he said.
"He understood that not every trainee will go on to play at a higher level. Only 15 make into the team, while 11 play at a time but all 30-40 boys work equally hard. He wanted these boys to be confident human beings when they go out in the society. This program will give our players that platform. The kids are enjoying this exercise. It will also keep them refresh from the pressure of performing to some extent."
