Minutes after laying his hands on the Ranji Trophy and ending Mumbai’s second-longest title drought, captain Ajinkya Rahane and the rest of his teammates took the team on a victory parade to celebrate with the fans.
After a prolonged celebration, as captain Ajinkya Rahane and head coach Omkar Salvi sat down to reflect on the team’s title run, the duo embodied a sense of pride. At the same time, while hailing each squad member for playing his part during the triumphant run, Rahane lauded the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for forcing established cricketers to play the Ranji Trophy.
“I want to mention [about] BCCI for giving importance to domestic cricket, which is a [very] good thing. Allowing players to go and play domestic cricket is very important,” Rahane said.
To incentivize achievements in First Class cricket, the Mumbai Cricket Association announced an additional prize of Rs 5 crore – over and above the prize money. Salvi hailed the action, stressing the point of additional security for domestic cricketers.
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“For all the players, nowadays, there are very less institutions which provide jobs. For youngsters, there is also a lot of lure towards franchise cricket (where) there is also a lot of money,” Salvi said.
“The BCCI is taking that step and raising that money along with that, the MCA taking that step forward to equal that amount, which is a great help for the players who don’t have some jobs or earnings. It is definitely an inspiration (and) it should be intrinsic —the monetary help will give them that security, and it will definitely stabilise them mentally and financially so they can give more to the game, the Mumbai coach added.
While Salvi – being the head coach in his first season – explained his coaching philosophy of “giving players the freedom” to think and perform, Rahane stressed the season underlining the depth of Mumbai cricket.
“This victory means a lot to us. It is very special since almost 10 players were representing India or India A across formats, which is a very good sign. We all are happy (for) guys who are representing India right now from (the) Mumbai team and extremely proud of ourselves for the way we have dominated the season,” Rahane said.
Wadkar credits Mumbai
While Mumbai celebrated its triumph, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar interacted with the Vidarbha bunch. Captain Akshay Wadkar, whose second-innings hundred went in vain, said Mumbai’s defiant batting in the second innings shut the door on a possible Vidarbha comeback.
“The way Mumbai batted in the second innings, they showed a lot of determination and courage. We tried to take wickets or create chances, but they gave nothing for us to come back in the game,” Wadkar said.
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