BASIL SYLVESTER PINTO
PANAJI
Goa cricket for the forthcoming season has lost a fair bit of sheen with its local pedigree of seasoned stars been dropped from the probables list altogether barring the exception of one player. Unfortunately, the lone stalwart of the side, Sagun Kamat who was the designated captain for the season, has been strung low after sustaining an unfortunate wrist injury in weight training in the month of July.
Bringing in professionals for this season, who have not had a proven track record but are seen good enough to mentor a rather young side, only created further doubts if Goa cricket is headed in the right direction.
While top-order batsman Kamat nurses his injury and will miss the Vijay Hazare Trophy to take place in Bengaluru and Alur from Sept 19, promising front line batsman, Amogh Desai has been deputed to take over the reins at least for the One-Dayers.
Speaking exclusively to The Goan, a day ahead of the team departure for the aforementioned tournament, Goa’s Head Coach, Prakash Mayenkar expressed confidence that his unit though lacking in experience had the wherewithal to excel against any opposition.
Incidentally, the shortlisted probables camped in Hyderabad from August 4 “ September 11 during which they played seven practice games and had several fielding sessions. “This year the senior side has had a good preparation ahead of a new season with the management backing us and sending the team to Hyderabad for practice. In the last two years, we were in Goa, training indoors and directly participated in the One-Dayers and Ranji Trophy,” the Level 1 NCA coach admitted.
“We had good facilities at the Gymkhana ground. We simultaneously practiced at three nets, besides having two astro turf wickets for throw downs. The weather stayed conducive through our pre-season camp that ensured fielding and match simulations,” added the satisfied Goa gaffer.
On the absence of prolific top-order batsman Sagun Kamat, he acknowledged that it was a huge blow for the team. “He (Sagun) is a big setback. He is a good leader, a front line batsman who controls the innings. Last year, in the Ranji and One-Dayers, he played a few crucial, captain’s knocks. He won us the One-Day match against Gujarat with a mature, responsible innings,” the head coach stated.
With a relatively young side, he expects the likes of Darshan Misal, Amogh Desai and Keenan Vaz, who have a decent amount of First Class experience behind them, to shoulder more responsibility. “The body language of the side is that they want to perform. There is a healthy completion among themselves,” remarked the former Goa cricketer.
On the composition of the 16-member One-Day assembled side that was announced on Saturday, he had this to say. “All-rounder Vishamber Kahlon finds himself in the senior team for the forthcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time on the basis of merit from age-group and domestic cricket performances. He has been a consistent performer for the U-23 side and the premier league scoring runs in the middle-order and snapping wickets with his leg spin. Professional player and batting all-rounder, Amit Verma (Karnataka) joined us in the nets in Hyderabad for the last four days. He has played a lot of cricket and seems to understand the game very well. I have told him to help our youngsters on how to approach the game and build on their innings. The other professional, Krishna Das (Assam) is a fantastic bowler. At a time, he can bowl 15 overs. He has good stamina and looks tough. He has a good record with 140 wickets from 41 First Class appearances.”
On the absence of the much-talked about former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s son, Asaduddin’s speculated inclusion in the Goa team for the season he was guarded in his reply. “After playing two practice matches (in Hyderabad), Asaduddin had a web injury on his left hand which required four stitches. On the last two days of the camp, he batted in the nets,” the Goa Head Coach divulged.
On the forthcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, Mayenkar looked positive. “Though we are drawn to play against tough teams like last year, we believe in ourselves that we can do something to bring in good results. We will take one match at a time as we continue to believe in our abilities. Mohinder Amaranth met our boys at GCA Academy on Saturday and made a very important point during the pep talk. He said that you should not see the opposition’s bowler, but in lieu watch the ball and play your game.”
“We think of doing our best in all the three departments
of the game “ field, ball and bat. Whatever character you have, show it on the ground and play to the situation is what I have told my team,” he mentioned.
It has to be recalled that Goa performed reasonably well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy last season. They defeated Rajasthan, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu to finish a respectably fourth among eight teams. They missed out narrowly on finishing third by a few fraction points on net run rate. With the Goa side, if they play to their self-belief and potential, it is not beyond them to do as well this season if not any better.
