Prithvi Shaw recalled that in the early years of his domestic career, he avoided eye contact with his then Mumbai coach Chandrakant Pandit.
Now a seasoned hand and captain of Mumbai, Shaw has worked up the courage to interact with Pandit on equal terms. Pandit is now the Madhya Pradesh coach.
Speaking on the eve of the Ranji Trophy final between Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh here, Shaw said, “After five years, I could make eye contact with Chandu sir (laughs). It wasn't like this in 2016-17 when I played (under Pandit for Mumbai). Everyone knows that Chandu sir is a tough man. It was nice to see him after a long time. We just met briefly — said 'hi, hello’.
“I think he has done a great job with Madhya Pradesh — they have reached the finals after so many years. Congratulations to Chandu sir and the team.”
Shaw called on the many youngsters in the Mumbai side to play the final without pressure. “I'm really proud of the team. I just want them to go out there and enjoy. To the youngsters, I say that this is the same game that you've played at the under-25 or under-19 level, just a level up. The result doesn't matter; it's the effort that matters,” Shaw said.
Madhya Pradesh captain Aditya Shrivastava stated that fast bowler Kuldeep Sen is fit to play. Kuldeep, who had a good IPL 2022 with Rajasthan Royals, had missed the knockout matches.
“Kuldeep is quite fit and ready to go, but we will take a final call on his selection on Wednesday morning. He is a good bowler and a great asset to our team,” Shrivastava said.
Shrivastava said that while Mumbai is a domestic powerhouse, Madhya Pradesh has what it takes to provide a stiff challenge.
“Mumbai has been a great cricketing team in the Indian calendar over the years. But ultimately the game is played on the ground, and is a contest between bat and ball. Whoever plays well that day will obviously have the edge. So we are backing ourselves to play good cricket as we have done over the season,” Shrivastava said.
