New Delhi, Sep 26 (IANS): Newly appointed Delhi senior men’s head coach Vijay Dahiya believes it is only a matter of time before the seven-time Ranji Trophy champions rediscover their consistency in red-ball cricket.
Despite regularly producing cricketers for India and the IPL, Delhi has failed to advance past the group stage in each of the last seven seasons of the Ranji Trophy. The side last lifted the prestigious trophy in the 2007/08 campaign – a triumph achieved during Dahiya’s first stint as Delhi’s head coach shortly after retiring as a player.
Now returning to coach Delhi ahead of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C opener against Bengal on October 11 in Kalyani, Dahiya stated that restoring Delhi’s authority in red-ball cricket is his chief priority.
“I’ve been around and have been watching cricket in Delhi. I’ve been watching a lot of domestic matches and tournament matches in Delhi. That’s the plus point I have of being in Delhi. So, officially I’m back after a while, but it’s good to be back,” Dahiya told IANS in an interview on Saturday.
Reminded of the 2007/08 title triumph, Dahiya laughed off the distant memory to focus squarely on the immediate task of rebuilding the current side’s red-ball consistency. “I don’t even remember, it’s that old! I mean that’s past. I’ll be very honest, the kind of talent I see in the Delhi dressing room or in the tournaments and everything, I think it’s a matter of season or two for Delhi to get back on track as far as red-ball cricket is concerned.
“I think Delhi is a very, very strong team in white-ball format. But yes, for red-ball, it’s a work in progress and that’s what the scene is. But I’m really, really excited to work with this a lot,” he added.
While Delhi players continue to earn national and international accolades, including middle-order batter Ayush Badoni leading India A in the T20 World Cup warm-up games, that individual promise has not yielded collective domestic cricket silverware in recent years.
“See, if you look at it that way, I think there are a lot of people who are doing individually very well. There are people playing for India and India A – Ayush Badoni almost leading India A. There are a lot of other guys who are getting selected in white ball format. But as a team, we have not done very well and that’s absolutely a challenge because you need to understand the mindset, and why is it happening.
“For me, from the outside, it’s very difficult to say why. But once I get into it, try and understand work, like I just mentioned, it’s a very exciting lot. You just need to understand what clicks for them and try and find those buttons which I can press and get the best out of them because it’s not just the 15 that I’ve seen last year, there are a lot of other very exciting youngsters,” he added.
Dahiya, who served as assistant coach with IPL franchise Gujarat Titans this year, takes over from former India off-spinner Sarandeep Singh. His support staff in Delhi includes assistant coaches Kshitiz Sharma and Kuldeep Rawat, alongside bowling coaches Sanjeev Sharma and former India pacer Parvinder Awana.
He also stressed on the importance of working seamlessly with the selection panel comprising former Delhi players Bhaskar Pillai, Manu Nayyar, and Praveen Gupta. “I’m really looking forward to work with the selectors as well because I have a lot of respect for both the selectors, especially Bhaskar Pillai and Manu Nayyar, because they were my seniors when I made my debut for Delhi.
“I think they will also play a very important role for Delhi’s progress. Everybody needs to be on the same page. This is the first time for Praveen to be a selector for the senior group. But these two have been around and they understand the psyche of Delhi cricket when Delhi cricket dominated the domestic scene. So I’m really looking forward to work with those two, especially the selection panel, and try and find the right path to follow in all formats,” he added.
That alignment across the board is vital to turning potential into changing Delhi’s red-ball fortunes. “Sometimes a lot of people look at everything with two mindsets. If everybody is on the same page, sometimes it’s not about the number because everybody is on the same page. Sometimes you can have two people in a team and being on the different page, there can be trouble in that.
“As the chief coach of the side, it’s going to be very important for me to keep everybody on the same page and that same page is how and what we can do to get the best out of the players. So in that sense, I think that’s my job. It doesn’t matter at the moment because it’s already done.
“It’s so important to keep everybody and get the best out of them. Awana and Sanjeev played for Delhi, Kuldeep has been around for a while and even Kshitiz for that matter – he’s been around. So I’ll try and get the best out of these guys, but Sanjeev and Awana have been around and I think they’re going to be a help for the whole group.”
Looking ahead to starting their campaign on the road in Kalyani, before potentially playing their home games in Palam due to drainage upgradation work set to happen at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Dahiya remained realistic about the challenge ahead.
“You don’t have to go far. Sometimes a familiar surface plays so much in your mind. So in that sense, yes, I’ve been there, done that. A lot of people have played there. So in that sense, it’s not going to be an unfamiliar territory. But having said that, it’s going to be a challenge. There’s no doubt about that.
“My vision should be the team’s vision and the team’s vision should be my vision and that is only one – that is how we can play our best. When I say best cricket, it’s what is available to us. I think I’ve watched enough domestic cricket. I’ve seen enough talent on the display in domestic cricket.
“If we can play our best cricket, and if as a support staff we can provide them the environment where they feel free, fearless, trusted and can give their best, I have no doubt that we can do really well.”
Dahiya signed off by calling on Delhi’s players to embrace pride in representing the national capital in the domestic season. “I’m not somebody who starts the journey looking at the destination. I’m somebody who starts step by step. The first step is to get a group together which believes in one thing, as well as hard work, honesty and being true to their potential and honest about what they bring to the park and then the rest of it – everything else will start from there.
“All I’m going to ask the group, whether it’s coaching staff or players, to give their 100 percent and be positive. That’s one thing that I associate with myself is being positive. I think a lot of people can’t stand that. That’s a challenge because I try to bring only positive energy around me.
“I may be 50-plus, but I don’t behave like that because I don’t feel like that and that is what I want to see in the boys as well because it’s an honour to play for your state, especially the one which has given so much to the country. It’s high time where we stop asking or thinking what Delhi has given us. We need to start understanding what we have given to Delhi,” he concluded.
