Vinayak Samant poised to bring Ranji Trophy title to Mumbai once again
Mumbai’s new coach, Vinayak Samant has stated that he wants to prove himself in the upcoming Ranji season before gaining the confidence of the selectors and the management. Ideally, Samant wants a few changes in the squad (that played last year) which is not possible in his first year.
With a prestigious record of winning the Ranji title 41 times, Mumbai Ranji team have had some issues of late. In the last six years, they have changed the head coach five times. Chandrakant Pandit was the only exception having won the trophy in 2016 and getting sacked after losing the finals next year.
Keeping the trend on his mind, Samant mentioned that he has just one goal at the moment - to win the title. This would eventually extend his appointment by a year and would help him gain the selector’s confidence. As a result, he will be able to make a few changes in the squad.My current aim is to help the team win the Ranji title. This is the only way I can extend my appointment and things will get easier by then," Samant told Cricbuzz.
“At the moment I can’t make a lot of changes in the squad. Will have to prove myself and gain the trust of the selectors and management by delivering the results. At best, right now, I can add a few pacers and spinners to the camp and work with them. Will be hunting for more this year so that I can make them ready for the next season,” said Samant.
The challenge that lies ahead of him now is more about the mental aspect of the game. Vinayak claims that the team is lacking in confidence post the quarter-final defeat against Karnataka in last year’s Ranji Trophy.
“Sports is all about confidence. The mental aspect of the games takes over after a point of time. The team’s morale is low at the moment post the quarter-final loss last year. I have spoken to the staff. My first task will be to work on the team’s confidence,” added Vinayak.
Mumbai’s team has not had a positive injury-free campaign in the past few years, with players like Dhawal Kulkarni, Balwinder Sandhu, and Tushar Deshpande getting injured and weakening the pace attack. Samant took these points into consideration and spoke about working on fitness and having an injury-free season.
“A fitness camp will begin soon and after that, we will assess what tournaments we need to play ahead of the season. I need to come out with a programme so as to make sure that all the players are fit and do not get injured,” revealed Samant.
Speaking about the team’s poor performance in the past few seasons, Samant added that the squad has not been up to the mark especially when it comes to bowling and fielding. He pointed out that the bowlers have not been accurate enough and the team has dropped quite a few catches at crucial moments.
“The issue is in the bowling department. They haven’t been accurate. I want bowlers to develop variations with accuracy. The fielding has also not been up to the mark, a lot of dropped catches and missed run-out opportunities,” claimed the former wicket-keeper.
He mentioned the uncertainty of Abhishek Nayar being there in the side as a senior mentor after being dropped mid-way through the season last year. He said that Nayar will play a key role if added to his team.
“He will definitely have an important role in my team if added. My job will be working on the team’s confidence from outside. Nayar will help them gain confidence internally. In case he is not there, someone else will have to play that role,” said Samant.
