Don’t take the game lightly and never consider yourself bigger than the game: Chandrakant Pandit

Pandit has enjoyed phenomenal success over the last seven years - guiding Vidarbha to consecutive Ranji Trophy titles in 2018 and 2019, followed by an Irani Cup win.

Chandrakant Pandit, coach of Madhya Pradesh, at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR / The Hindu

It’s not for nothing that Chandrakant Pandit is considered one of the master tacticians in cricket. For the world, he is a hard taskmaster, but Pandit’s traits lie in his understanding of the game and maintaining a no-nonsense approach.

The long and illustrious career as a top-level coach has taught him that the ‘my way or the highway’ approach does not work. Rather, it is important to keep calm and bring the best out of the players.

“I always believe that being the coach and the leader of the team, it’s important that I remain calm and cool. My emotions and reactions - both on and off the field - definitely have an effect on the players,” he tells  Sportstar.

While the players sweat it out in the middle, Pandit, too, ensures that he plays his part by passing on the necessary inputs to the captain.

Things were no different on Monday morning. With Andhra just 10 runs away from reaching its first-ever Ranji Trophy semifinal, Madhya Pradesh needed to pick up the last two wickets at the earliest. As the situation got tougher, Mihir Hirwani could be seen entering the field after almost every over with a towel, a couple of water bottles and some ‘very important messages from Chandu Sir’.

It was all part of the plan. Those ‘important messages’ eventually led to some change in bowling, and Madhya Pradesh claimed a thrilling four-run win to reach the Ranji Trophy semifinal for the third time in a row.

“I sent Mihir to tell the captain to bring back Anubhav (Agarwal) and that we should gamble with him. I also wanted to take a chance with (Kulwant) Khejroliya, and those clarity of thoughts also help the captain make decisions,” Pandit said with a sheepish smile.

Madhya Pradesh bowler Anubhav Agarwal with his coach Chandrakant Pandit. | Photo Credit:  SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR/The Hindu

“If I keep my cool, then only can I start thinking about the game and analyse what could happen. It’s not that I know everything about it, but you keep learning every day and every session. That’s all we have learned in all these years…”

Pandit has enjoyed phenomenal success over the last seven years - guiding Vidarbha to consecutive Ranji Trophy titles in 2018 and 2019, followed by an Irani Cup win. He kept the momentum going with Madhya Pradesh, guiding the team to a Ranji Trophy title in 2022. Though it lost in the semifinal against Bengal last year, Madhya Pradesh looks determined to win the title this time.

It’s obviously not an easy task, but Pandit has his plans. “At certain times, I do get angry and upset, and at times, those actions often come as a motivation for the team. I know that there are certain characters who you need to pinch at a particular point of time and at times, give a pat on their back or even have lunch with them. Those things have worked,” says the MP coach.

In the world of social media, Pandit is far from it. Following his own fundamentals and strictness, he has been able to not only deliver results with teams, but has also motivated players. “I am the last person to take the game lightly, and I never allow anyone to be bigger than the game,” he says.

“So, I always try to maintain myself. I try to make the boys realise that no one should be above the game, and for that to happen, I need to be calm and cool because I play certain roles from the outside, and fortunately or unfortunately, the bowlers and the captains always look forward to those suggestions. They keep making those changes immediately,” Pandit says, adding with a smile, “That’s how it has been so far…”