Chandu has come a long way with MP

Chandrakant Pandit has come a long way since he decided to be associated with Madhya Pradesh the team he is currently guiding as coach in the Ranji Trophy final against Mumbai at Bangalorersquos Chinnaswamy StadiumTo me it doesnrsquot seem so long ago when after finishing a Kanga League game for MIG Cricket Club at one of the gymkhanas at Marine Drive he broke the news of him leaving Assam to join MPPandit of course had been a regular Mumbai Ranji Trophy player from 198283 to 199091 before his twoseason stint with Assam MP managed a fine replacement for Sandeep Patil who led them till 199293 when they lost in the semifinals to eventual champions PunjabSome members of his new team had seen what he could come up with when they were on the opposite side in the 198990 prequarter finals at Wankhede Stadium where Pandit captained Mumbai to an innings and 43run victoryPanditrsquos exploits with and bat and behind the wickets for Mumbai were remarkable and earned him his India opportunities There were times he played as a batsman ndash his Test debut against England at Leeds in 1986 and the Tied Test against Australia in the same yearTalking of his Mumbai performances it is worth recalling his 157 in the 198283 final against Karnataka at the Wankhede Stadium His knock helped Mumbai pile up 534 in the first innings Normally thatrsquos a large enough score to win the Ranji Trophy on the first innings but Brijesh Patelrsquos team were all out only after smashing 551 Pandit ensured his efforts in the next Ranji final ndash against Delhi the following season ndash did not go in vain Dilip Vengsarkar scored 123 and Sunil Gavaskar helped himself to a double ton but also vital was Panditrsquos 71 in Mumbairsquos mammoth 625 all out Delhi couldnrsquot do a Karnataka and Mumbai got the Ranji Trophy back after 198081Like Patil he led MP astutely and became their mentor Each player was important to him Each player was capable of putting more illustrious players on the back foot and there was aggression thrown inTwo seasons before MPrsquos heartbreaking loss to Karnataka in the 199899 Ranji final at Bangalore Panditrsquos MP clashed with Mumbai in the 199697 semifinals at Indore It was a needle clash and Pandit provided the small group of travelling reporters fodder when he expressed his unhappiness over being adjudged caught behind by Sulakshan Kulkarni off Nilesh Kulkarni for 40 just when he was giving Mumbai a bit of a headache Pandit stood his ground walked off hesitantly and had something to say to umpire S LakshmananHad he been reported by referee Sarkar Talwar there would have been yet another storm in his season It had all started with Central Zone and national selector Kishen Rungta sending Pandit packing for not pulling his weight in the Deodhar Trophy game against West Zone which ended in a tie Later Pandit went on to state that the umpires had messed up in MPrsquos Super League game against Kerala In light of all this I was moved to start my report on the incident from Indore ldquoControversy has chased Chandrakant Pandit all season Or is the other way roundrdquoMumbai were too good for MP in that semis and Sanjay Manjrekarrsquos team marched ahead and won the title by beating Delhi under lights at Gwalior For MP a semifinals finish could have been satisfying and they had given it their best shot Pandit has an analytical mind and he brought that to his leadershipThe RungtaPandit issue left a bad taste That a former Test cricketer was accused and dropped from his zone team as captain and player for not trying hard enough didnrsquot go down well with Panditrsquos first state association The Mumbai Cricket Association was right behind Pandit They took up the issue at the BCCIrsquos working committee meeting in February 1997There was also a morcha by city cricketers from Eros cinema to the Cricket Club of India the venue of the Board meeting to protest the treatment meted out to Pandit ldquoI have always played for my team and my performance proves it but this allegation was very surprising and that too coming from a national selector who plays a role in selecting the Indian teamrdquo Pandit told me thenReportedly Pandit was first asked to declare himself unfit for the rest of the Deodhar Trophy to save himself the embarrassment ldquoWhy should I revert to such tactics when I have not done anything wrong Cricket is my bread and butter and if I would do a thing like that I would be cheating myselfrdquo he told the media An insider told me yesterday that there was a history to the RungtaPandit 1997 clash ndash both arguing over a wet pitch for a Ranji Trophy match in Udaipur in 1995Perhaps Pandit hasnrsquot realised that this is the silver jubilee of that controversy now that he has the Ranji Trophy silverware on his mind It is a trophy he is personally familiar with but whorsquos to say he doesnrsquot deserve holding it again in his present capacitymiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper