Chandrakant Pandit opens debate on Irani Cup schedule

Scheduling the Irani Cup just four days after the Ranji Trophy final meant Vidarbha had to curtail its celebrations and focus again.

Chandrakant Pandit addresses the media.

Former Indian wicketkeeper Chandrakant Pandit and coach of the victorious Vidarbha team has once again opened the debate on the schedule of the Irani Cup .

Pandit wants the Irani Cup match to be the scheduled as one which will signal the beginning of a new domestic season and he has his reasons too.

"The Ranji Trophy is a long drawn tournament which takes more than four months and the winning team has to play at least 10 to 11 matches. The players will be tired after a long season and they will be carrying injuries. It is difficult for them to recover and start all over again and give their 100 percent for the Irani Cup a few days after the Ranji final. Personally I feel the Irani Cup should be held at the beginning of the season," he told the media on Saturday.

The former Mumbai player gave credit to his side's professional player, the 41-year-old Wasim Jaffer, for the sucess his team enjoyed this season.

The coach said Jaffer's contribution should not be measured merely by the number of runs the batsman scored but his invaluable presence in the dressing room.

"He is an important member of our squad. He brings in a wealth of experience and his contribution is not the number of runs he scored. But he is a vital link between young players and the team management.

"He is like an elder brother to many of them and  they confide their problems with him. He is always ready to help them. Jaffer gives us a feedback about a player attitude and it is of immense help to us," he said.

Despite the back-to-back double, Pandit feels there is still scope for improvement and chose the occasion to remind his players about the bare cupboard in the shorter format of the game.

"We have won four titles in two years that is fine but we have lost four — that is how I look at it. We will try to build up from here to see what can be done to win more trophies. I have told [the] boys that 'we have done so well without Wasim Jaffer and Umesh Yadav, so with them we can do wonders'. We still have to improve a lot in other formats to be a great side," he said.