Clayton Murzello clayton@ mid- day. com A SIX- hour bus journey from Rajkot to Ahmedabad starting midnight on Sunday. A twohour, 15 minute- flight from Ahmedabad to Chennai and then a seven- and- a- half- hour bus journey to Ongole. Thatu2019s how the Saurashtra cricket team reached the Andhra Pradesh town for their Ranji Trophy quarter- final which begins on Thursday.
No wonder Saurashtrau2019s former India all- rounder coach Karsan Ghavri exclaimed to mid- day, u201c My boys are knackered.u201d u201c The distance weu2019ve had to travel to get here is absolutely unthinkable. The aspect I just cannot understand is why could this match not be held in Visakhapatnam,u201d said Ghavri, who is aware that AP has won their last three games ( against Delhi, Hyderabad and Kerala) outright at Ongole.
u201c Probably, they believe they can beat us in conditions that suit them but we are ready for any conditions. This doesnu2019t worry us,u201d said Ghavri of his side who were responsible for putting Mumbai out of the reckoning through their stubborn batting that led to a draw at Rajkot on February 7.
Kamlesh Makvana ( 31 not out) and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja ( 33 not out) put on 75 runs to keep Mumbai at bay.
u201c Personally, I am very disappointed by this travel situation.
If this is the kind of journeys teams have to endure, then itu2019s bad news for Indian cricket and the BCCIu2019s fixtures committee must look into this.
Big matches likes these need to be played at prominent centres. And our hotel here is third grade,u201d said Ghavri, who has had the distinction of playing and coaching both Mumbai and Saurashtra. He was coach- cum- manager of Ravi Shastriu2019s team which broke Mumbaiu2019s eight- season winless Ranji Trophy streak in 1993- 94.
Ghavri, 68, said the Saurashtra Cricket Association tried to have their team travel via other routes in batches, but flight tickets were unavailable.
u201c Luckily, we have an afternoon practice session tomorrow so that we can get a bit more rest tonight,u201d said the former India star.
u2018 Knackeredu2019 Saurashtra travel nearly 16 hours for Ranji quarters u2018 The distance weu2019ve had to travel to get here is absolutely unthinkable. Big matches likes these need to be played at prominent centresu2019 Karsan Ghavri
