Madhya Pradesh also reached the semifinals in the next two seasons of the Ranji Trophy. Pandit comes into this domestic season on the back of coaching Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 title in Chennai. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cNot only in Ranji Trophy but in domestic cricket, most of our teams have been faring well and they are generally in age groups of women and men also. They are qualifying for the semifinals. So, the thrust for me as the President was on creating the bench strength and therefore we have extended the contract period of Chandu Pandit, who was the KKR coach in the IPL.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cHe was with us for the last three-four years and we have again given him the responsibility so that it is not only about the Ranji team, which of course he is looking after but also other teams of age groups where he can coach them in a very specialized manner, so that for the next couple of years we should have good players,\u201d Khandekar told IANS in an exclusive conversation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Players like Rajat Patidar, Venkatesh Iyer, and Avesh Khan have been the players from Madhya Pradesh who got into the Indian men\u2019s team, while Pooja Vastrakar is a mainstay in the women\u2019s team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Saransh Jain was a member of India \u2018A\u2019 team playing first-class games against England Lions in Ahmedabad earlier this year, while Soumya Tiwari was the vice-captain of India winning the 2023 Women\u2019s U19 T20 World Cup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cA large number of players from Madhya Pradesh are now playing in IPL. They are also being picked up for Indian teams. So this is the result of the hard work in the last four to five years because overnight nothing happens.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe idea is also that we should also look after the junior players, and give proper attention to the senior group players, as well as age group teams in women and men - that is U23 and above, as well as under 19, under 14, under 16. So, generally, the upcoming domestic season is also looking quite positive,\u201d added Khandekar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Madhya Pradesh have sent its men\u2019s team for the upcoming Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament, starting on August 15, with batting stalwart Devendra Bundela taking up head coach duties.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In the last domestic season, Madhya Pradesh also won Women\u2019s Under-19 and Under-23 competitions, and Khandekar said things are looking optimistic for the state to do well in men\u2019s and women\u2019s domestic competitions in the upcoming domestic season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBuchi Babu is a curtain raiser kind of a thing and since we had won it (last year), as well as won the Ranji Trophy (previously), and U-19 plus U-23 women\u2019s tournament, you can see a large number of victories Madhya Pradesh has recorded in the domestic circuit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI would like to give credit to the coaching system that we have evolved, and the intensive training that we are giving. A lot of money is being spent on coaching because creating and building a stadium is one thing, but then if you don't have talented players and if you don't spend on players, cricket will suffer.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBuchi Babu is a curtain raiser kind of a thing and since we had won it (last year), as well as won the Ranji Trophy (previously), and U-19 plus U-23 women\u2019s tournament, you can see a large number of victories Madhya Pradesh has recorded in the domestic circuit.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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