Ranji Trophy: Team balance has given J&K new identity - coach Sanjeev Sharma

J&K head coach Sanjeev Sharma hails his team’s win over Puducherry as a fulfilling start to the red-ball season and senses the rare air around Karnataka in the next round.

FILE PHOTO: Sanjeev Sharma..."We will maintain our positive approach after this start because we have such players in our team. We are not going to play in a shell."

Buoyant after Jammu & Kashmir’s clinical victory in the Ranji Trophy opener against Puducherry last week in Chennai, head coach Sanjeev Sharma hailed his team’s effort as a fulfilling start to the red-ball season.

Jammu and Kashmir snatched six points with the eight-wicket win and took the lead in Group C. In its second fixture on Thursday at the IIT-Chemplast ground in Chennai, the team faces Karnataka - exactly two years after the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal in 2020.

While the focus was on seasoned campaigner Parvez Rasool, who shone with a 10-wicket haul besides IPL stars Abdul Samad and Umran Malik, Sanjeev believes that the team has evolved beyond select individuals.

‘Team effort’

“It was a thorough team effort in the first game. We will maintain our positive approach after this start because we have such players in our team. We are not going to play in a shell,” Sanjeev told Sportstar .

The former India seamer was effusive in his praise for the young trio - Qamran Iqbal, Jatin Wadhwan and Shubham Pundir - for their batting performance.

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“The conditions were good for batting and there was the pressure of a big total (343) from Puducherry in front of us. Iqbal did a fine job. He had one end safe and stood to about 70 (74.2) overs which was important. Jatin also played very well, scoring 69 from over 100 balls on debut. Pundir, too, is a key player on the side. All of them are very compact, technically gifted batters,” Sanjeev said.

That’s not all. “They are followed by Samad and Rasool and keeper-batter in Fazil Rashid in the middle-order and then comes two-more all-rounders in Abid Mushtaq and Aqib Nabi. This balance has given the side a new identity. Hopefully, this set of players can take the team forward.”

‘He is going to be costly because he is quick, but I believe he is a genuine wicket-taker. We need bowlers like this too, someone who can break any big partnership, especially in dry conditions where the ball is not going to move. Then we need to rely on speed as well.’ - Sanjeev Sharma on Umran Malik

Sharma also had words of praise for skipper Ian Dev Singh.

“He is a brilliant guy. A thinking cricketer on the field, and we always lay out several plans after discussing them with him. Unfortunately, he missed out on runs in the first match, but he is all set for Karnataka,” said Sanjeev.

Need patience with Umran, Samad

A former chairman of the BCCI junior selection committee, Sanjeev had seen the rise of several current India stars, including skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli among other precocious youngsters from their U-19 days. While he has seen talent aplenty, a speedster clocking over 150kph has been a rare sight.

Umran, who had a dream run with Sunrisers Hyderabad, continues as a player of intrigue, having featured in only five games since then before his Ranji debut last week. The 22-year-old picked four wickets in two innings but remained considerably expensive in both essays in comparison to his peers. Sanjeev said the team was willing to take the risk for all it was worth.

“It was his debut (Ranji) game. From what I saw in the first game, he has the skill to penetrate through the opposition. He might be costly, we had a plan, you know. He is going to be costly because he is quick, but I believe he is a genuine wicket-taker. We need bowlers like this too, someone who can break any big partnership, especially in dry conditions where the ball is not going to move. Then we need to rely on speed as well.”

Umran Malik took four wickets from two innings against Puducherry but was expensive. - BCCI/IPL

 

Along similar lines, Samad continued his fine run in first-class cricket with a thunderous 78-ball 101 against Puducherry in the first innings - propelling the team to a 83-run lead. Sanjeev hopes to see Samad continue his style of batting, adding: “I have seen a lot of stroke makers. Viru (Sehwag) in his time did a great job for India. I think with experience, Samad is going to give us shades of that kind of a player. What stands out in his batting is how he chooses his shots over mid-on, mid-off and covers. The talent is there to see, he has already scored three centuries from a few (11) first-class matches.”

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Sanjeev thanked the three-member committee appointed by the BCCI for JKCA for the team’s rejuvenated start in Chennai.

“I thank Brigadier Anil Gupta, along with Sunil Sethi and Mithun Manhas (cricket operations) for their efforts. They gave the boys top facilities and sent us here in advance to gel with the conditions and that has helped in our preparations.”

The truncated season has placed the Elite group teams into four-way tussles for the top spot in their respective groups. With a win likely to seal its berth in the knockouts, J&K senses the rare air around Karnataka, which is on the brink of a group-stage exit.

“We’re going to go all-in for the win,” said Sanjeev ahead of the big clash.