My main focus for 2019/20 season is the Ranji Trophy, says Mumbai coach Vinayak Samant
After being reappointed as Mumbai’s head coach for the upcoming domestic season, Vinayak Samant has said that his primary focus for the team will be to fare better in the Ranji Trophy. Samant has promised to rectify the mistakes made by the 41-time champions in the 2018/19 season.
In Samant's first stint as the coach last season, Mumbai won the Vijay Hazare ODI tournament after several years and fared decently in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament. However, in the longest, and perhaps the most prestigious format of the Indian domestic circuit, the Mumbai side failed to live up to expectations.
"I'm only focusing on what mistakes we did (last season) and we have to rectify them. We have to focus more on the Ranji Trophy, (and at the same time) on ODIs and T20s. We did well in the ODI tournament and T20 tournament, but we were not able to do a good job in the Ranji Trophy (last season). So, my main focus (this time) is the Ranji Trophy," Samant told PTI.
The 46-year-old was given a second straight term at the helm after former Mumbai wicket-keeper Sulakshan Kulkarni refused to sign the contract offered to him by the MCA.
"We have to nurture talent for Mumbai and if the process is right, the outcome will be good. Mumbai has a lot of talented players. In the past, we have won the Ranji Trophy (without star players) - there was no Sachin Tendulkar or Sanjay Manjrekar - but we did it. We want to make sure that we play positive and in crisis, we have to be together," Samant said.
Mumbai will have to do without their young prodigy Prithvi Shaw, who has been suspended for eight months by the BCCI for an anti-doping violation. But Samant already has a plan lined up for him, should he be picked in the Mumbai squad for any of the tournaments when he returns from suspension.
"I will keep it simple. You have to be very disciplined and if you are not disciplined, it will go haywire. I will tell him (Shaw) to be disciplined. He is a good boy and he understands that. I am hoping that he will change his approach towards the game and do well for Mumbai as well as the country," Samant added.