'Now we know how to win'
Uttar Pradesh will no doubt be heartbroken by the missed opportunity in this year's Ranji Trophy final, after suffering their second loss in successive finals. Captain Mohammad Kaif though believes it still is a very huge achievement nonetheless, a
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In my eyes, a very huge achievement. The UP record in the past has not been great. We won only once three years back; earlier we were not one of the big sides. Now when you talk about Mumbai, you need to mention UP as well in domestic cricket.
Maybe because we were not the best side. We were not winning anything. Now we know how to win and what the things are required to form a good side. Things are changing back home slowly. I had to call one guy from Madhya Pradesh, Rathore, only for the final to look after the boys, during the year we won.
In UP, well I don't need to tell you. You all know what it is. Probably, you want to hear it from me as a captain which is fine. You know about the good things, the bad things, politics, how players come from, how they get picked . We have some difficulties at the under-age levels. Hopefully the selection criteria and the infrastructure will improve.
Infrastructure and proper selection at the under-age levels, in the 30-member squad and give more chances to the players you finally pick. That's what I have been trying to do as a captain as well. For example, Parvinder Singh - he has been playing for seven years but he was not able to get support from the management and the players and never felt at home. But this time, he has played his first full season. I assured him that he would get five to six games, but he had to show us what he could do. He didn't start well, but grew in confidence as he knew if he got out, he would have some support in the dressing room and he would get more chances. That has worked. He delivered for us.
Yeah you need to know about their nature. Sometimes you've got to be hard, sometimes you've got to be soft, and know how to guide the younger boys.
What you see of them is not how I see. All I need is commitment once they enter the ground and I get it. That's all I am bothered about.
'I am happy with the captaincy. At times there is fatigue and stuff like that because of non-stop cricket. People think I can do a good job and I am happy that I have been able to work with the young guys and get to three finals' | |||
Yeah. At times there is fatigue and stuff like that because of non-stop cricket. People think I can do a good job and I am happy that I have been able to work with the young guys and get to three finals.
Bhuveneshwar, yes, and the whole team has done well actually - Parvinder Singh, Shivakant Shukla. As a captain I look things differently. Praveen Gupta is a good bowler. Sometimes, in a match, you need to keep switching plans. You cannot give a big spell to a bowler. So someone like Praveen has not got a chance to bowl big spells compared to Piyush [Chawla], Praveen [Kumar], RP [Singh]. To me, all are equal. Our strength in the past few years was our bowling. But this season our batsmen have clicked and we have chased some big scores. So the team is looking good allround.
I am not sure. If you ask the selectors they will give you a better idea. To me, all I can do is just to score runs.
Sometimes there are stages in your career you feel when you are getting runs and you still get dropped. I scored 91 against England and was dropped for the next match. In West Indies, I scored 146 not out in a Test match [in 2006], batted only three innings after that and never played again. It's disappointing. Players who were getting dropped are coming back. But I haven't made a comeback in more than two years. It's been frustrating and very tough.
You can't ask those questions as a player. Selectors have not spoken to me. When you are dropping someone you need to know in what area you need to work on. That's how it's supposed to be. You need to be more transparent. If I am not good enough, just tell me on the face and I will work hard on those areas. It will help that player and at the same time to the team also na?
No, I am still hopeful. I am not done.
Sriram Veera is a staff writer at Cricinfo