Reigning ranji trophy

The Vijay Hazare Trophy: Reigning Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha added another major trophy to their cabinet when they clinched the Vijay Hazare Trophy title after beating Saurashtra by 38 runs on Sunday. Traditionally strong in red-ball cricket, Vidarbha added the 50-over crown to their domestic trophy collection, completing a missing piece in their cabinet.

The Vijay Hazare Trophy win further underlined Usman Ghani’s impact as Vidarbha coach, adding more glitter to an impressive resume that already features triumphs in in the Cooch Behar Trophy (2017/18), Vinoo Mankad Trophy (2018/19, 2022/23), Ranji Trophy (2024/25), Duleep Trophy (2025) and Irani Cup (2025).

In an exclusive conversation with IANS from Anantapur, where Vidarbha will kickstart their Ranji Trophy phase two campaign against Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, Ghani spoke on the Vijay Hazare Trophy win, skipper Harsh Dubey, leading run-getter Aman Mokhade, finding multiple match-winners, and his coaching ethos. Excerpts from the interview: