Inti begins Punjab stint; stress on fitness, fielding

As the 22 probables, including former India caps Dinesh Mongia, Reetinder Sodhi and Pankaj Dharmani, huddled together, their professional coach-cum-manager from Pakistan began a pep-talk, which lasted almost an hour-and-a-half.

‘‘It was a great learning experience. He (Inti) is one of the all-time cricketing greats and knows the technicalities of the game. Above all, he interacts with us in Punjabi,’’ Mongia said later.

The session was followed by fielding and fitness drills with Intikhab becoming an active participant in spite of observing the month-long fasting during Ramadan.

‘‘These cricketers are quite talented and after briefing them about different aspects of pschyology, I laid strength on flexibility, strength, speed and power. Besides attitude, my real emphasis would be on fielding and fitness,’’ he told The Indian Express.

With just 15 days to go before Punjab play their first Ranji Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh, Inti has a plan in place: ‘‘I have been doing the spadework. Besides getting the past record of our boys, I also have a fair knowledge about the teams we have faced in the last two years.’’

Meanwhile, the Punjab Cricket Association, in another pathbreaking decision, has decided to avail of the services of a computer analyst for its Ranji team starting this season.