There’s a professional touch about Vidarbha

This despite the fact that they have been missing pacer Umesh Yadav who has been on India duty. What seems to have made the difference in the side is the inclusion of three professionals something that has been done for the first time in Vidarbha’s cricket history.

The role played by Sairaj Bahutule,Hemang Badani,and Shiv Sunder Das came out most prominently in their game against Himachal. Chasing a target of 257,Vidarbha were 110 for 6 before a 132-run partnership between Badani who,batting with a fractured thumb made an unbeaten 83,and Bahutule (61). Owing to his injury,Badani will not be playing in the match against Services but Bahutule and Das will still pose a challenge. According to Vidarbha’s coach Usman Ghani,the three former India international players’ contribution is more than simply the sum of their individual performances.

“To be honest,it is absolutely essential for teams especially in the Plate Division to make the most of professionals. While the players we have are quite talented,they lack the knowledge to take their game to the next level. Here is where players like Bahutule,Badani and Das,who have played hundreds of first class matches between them can make a difference,”

Bahutule plays mentor

Indeed Bahutule seemed to be taking his unofficial role as mentor very seriously at Wednesday’s practice session. Bowling his leg spinners,he noticed he was regularly beating one batsman in particular. Immediately he went up to the batsman in question and began to discuss where he was going wrong. “You need to tighten up your defence,” he tells him. “We talk about a lot of things,” he says later adding “but the most important is on how to handle pressure. Sometimes as individual we put too much pressure on your self. We tell them to stop worrying all the time and focus on the game,” says Bahutule.

But as professionals the trio face a further challenge. The professionals are often the first casualty if the team is doing poorly,with the management choosing instead to keep the faith in homegrown players.

Hemang Badani who turned out for Haryana last year,was released after he had an average season. This time around while Badani and Bahutule have contributed,the spotlight is on former India opener Shiv Sunder Das. Das joined Vidarbha after a horror 2010 season with Orissa when he scored 5 runs in five innings and he hasn’t seen the turnaround he would have wanted this season either with a high score of 30.

“There is additional pressure,but I think I have seen enough cricket and see it as a challenge. The goal is to help the team perform and guide the players. When they do well,as a senior you feel good about it,” he says.