My approach has always been player-centric: Chandrakant Pandit

Chandrakant Pandit is in the building As soon as he enters the MCABKC facility where he previously served as director of the indoor academy while being the senior Mumbai teamrsquos coach Madhya Pradeshrsquos maiden Ranji Trophywinning coach stops to bow to a Ganesha idol at the entrance of the indoor netsldquoIt is a ritual for me After all I spent a lot of time here I automatically head in that direction whenever I am hererdquo Pandit tells midday Wednesday is also an auspicious daymdashGuru Purnima and we are sure that the former India wicketkeeperbatsman has received plenty of messages from his wardsPandit has made winning with lesserfancied teams like Vidarbha two consecutive time Ranji Trophy champions in 201718 and 201819 and now Madhya Pradesh who stunned 41time champions Mumbai last month a habit Before this he won three Ranji titles with Mumbaimdash200203 200304 and 201516At the clubrsquos coffee shop we chat about his unique and at times enigmatic coaching methods Or letrsquos call it the Chandrakant Pandit WayEdited excerpts from the interviewWhat is it with your coaching that anything you touch turns goldLaughs Itrsquos nothing like that I donrsquot know if I am doing different but whatever I do at that particular moment is very instinctive A lot of my coaching methods come from my guru Ramakant Achrekar sir I have also learnt a lot from Ashok Mankad The time I spent in the Mumbai dressing room with legends like Sunil Gavaskar Dilip Vengsarkar and many more during my playing days probably taught me something I never really wanted to take up coaching Milind Rege Madhav Apte Raju Kulkarni and Sanjay Manjrekarthese are the guys who really forced me to take up coaching the Mumbai U19 team at that timeMy approach has always been playercentric which I learnt from Achrekar sirmdashhow to build a team how to communicate with players That Mumbai ethos of playing to win is what I try to inculcate in teams I coachFortunately results have been forthcoming and that is why people think I am doing something differentYes I am a disciplinarian and my ways of communicating are slightly different from other coaches but it is the same passion and commitment that every coach has I share ideas and experiences with players in a very simple wayDid you do anything different in your coachingI am more strict with my players Being together boarding the bus or aircraft in a queue making different committees within the groupthese are some things that I do People tell me they are not school kids but I believe discipline is very important in whatever you do in life I put a lot of emphasis on teambonding We went to Mau in Bhind district Madhya Pradesh to spend a day at a military camp We would have regular outings because I wanted the players to know each other very well One of the most important things I do as a coach is to take responsibility for every decision taken Whatever strategy that we put together doesnrsquot work I take responsibility and not my players I have also told my players to put the blame on me if anybody questions themYou are not on social media you donrsquot even use WhatsApphellipTwenty30 years back when social media and communication applications were not available we would still manage to do things efficiently I am not against social media or the use of smart phones but my objective is not to get distracted in my job and goals I need to stay focussed My friends family and wellwishers can get in touch with me over a phone call or SMS There are advantages of social media and WhatsApp but keeping these things away can help you stay focusIn fact I advised the players to stay away from social media before the Ranji Trophy final as I didnrsquot want them to get distracted get influenced or become complacent in any way One has to know how and when to utilise these social media tools So I donrsquot have any of these applications on my phone because if they are there you would want to check them oftenAlso Read Virat Kohli has to find his way BCCI President Sourav GangulyWhom would you credit the Ranji Trophy win toOf course the players and support staff The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association MPCA provided terrific support It is the best association I have come across They understood the importance of camps and the selectors Amitabh Vijayvargiyarsquos committee were on the same page The associationrsquos president Abhilash Khandekar secretary Sanjeev Rao and CEO Rohit Pandit were the backbone of this win Every demand was met without any hesitation I would sit at all selection committee meetings and the selectors accepted whichever player I suggested The great support and suggestions that I received from Mr Sanjay Jagdale showed how involved the association is with their cricket We developed a great rapport similar to what I had with Milind Rege exchief Mumbai selector and Dilip Vengsarkar MCArsquos former vicepresident and Cricket Improvement Committee chief when I was coach of MumbaiRajat Patidar who scored a century in the final was one of the most impressive players in MPrsquos Ranji campaignRajat is a different quality player like Rohit Sharma or VVS Laxman He can pick the line and length earlier than the rest of the batters The way he batted in the final showed he has excellent temperament too I didnrsquot have to tell him anything Now itrsquos up to him to maintain this consistencyDo you aim to coach an IPL team or be part of the BCCI coaching staffI have never had any kind of ambitions only passion for the game So whatever has come my way I have accepted with a smile Anything to do with cricket be it IPL other domestic cricket or a BCCI assignment I am willing to serve the game I get utmost joy when a player from my team plays for India That is the ultimate satisfactionHow will you deal with high expectations nowExpectations are definitely increasing and I am human so the pressure is bound to get to me I avoid reading anything before a match I try and spend time with friends or restrict myself to my room during tournaments Before the final I received articles like lsquoItrsquos Mumbai v Mumbaikarrsquo midday piece dated June 22 Although these were from my wellwishers it can add to the pressureWill you come back to the Mumbai coaching set upAt the moment it is very difficult There are younger people for the job and I must keep that space open for them I did it for some years and I feel the younger guys should take up that responsibility now200203The season in which Chandrakant Pandit first experienced Ranji Trophy success with Mumbai