Delhi men crash out of Vinoo Mankad; women march into T20 Super League

Delhi teams’ below-par performances in domestic cricket tournaments have become so frequent in recent years that they no longer come as a surprise. A new season began with yet another disappointment, as the boys’ under-19 team crashed out of the Vinoo Mankad Trophy after losing four of their five matches and failing to qualify for the knockout round. By coincidence, Delhi had met a similar fate last season, losing four of five games at the group stage.

A significant portion of the blame for these dismal showings lies with the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). To begin with, delayed starts once again hampered the teams’ preparations, not just for the Vinoo Mankad Trophy but for other tournaments as well. As usual, issues surrounding team selection dominated discussions among selectors and coaches, with pressure from various quarters to include certain players.

Delays galore

All the signs of an impending disaster were visible even before Delhi’s Vinoo Mankad campaign began this month. The late start and finish of the Delhi Premier League (DPL) T20 created a cascading delay for mainstream domestic national-level tournaments. The DDCA also took unusually long to announce panels of selectors, coaches, and support staff, leaving little time for team selection and practice. The under-19 team had barely begun training when rain intervened, forcing the 23-member squad to leave for Ranchi without players and coaches having a chance to get to know each other properly.

“In Ranchi, we would initially identify players by matching their names and photos on paper,” said a source with the team. “On the other hand, the Punjab team [which scored a whopping 382/7 in 50 overs against Delhi] had prepared for about a month before coming to Ranchi.”

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Selection pressure

Against the odds, the Pranav Pant-led under-19 side began well, beating Assam by seven wickets in its opening match. Thereafter, Delhi lost four successive games and crashed out. Both batters and bowlers struggled against strong opposition. Delhi’s bowling unit conceded the most runs (1,276 in 233.4 overs) among the 30 teams in the fray.

The source said the coaching staff was under pressure to favour certain players. “There was constant pressure to include the sons of influential people. Phone calls bombarded the coaches, and on the eve of every match, they discussed the playing combination for hours, at times until midnight,” he told Patriot.

One member of the junior selection committee tried to deflect blame by alleging that the opposition fielded “overage” players, though without much conviction. This season, the DDCA registered 68 players with the BCCI, compared with just 31 last year.

Women save the blushes

Amid the gloom, the bright spark came from the women’s team, which advanced to the second round of the Senior T20 Trophy for the first time in four years. The Soni Yadav-led side qualified for the Super League by finishing second in Elite Group D, behind Railways, in Raipur. Delhi won five of six matches, losing only to Railways.

The team will now play three Super League fixtures — against Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha — starting October 25 in Surat.

Chief coach Deepti Dhyani, a former Delhi first-class player, said the team’s success owed much to its cohesion. “We made a plan and it worked. When you work out a plan, it provides clarity to everyone. After all, at this stage, you can’t teach cricket to players who have been playing for close to 10 years,” Dhyani told Patriot.

“We didn’t get a long time to prepare in Delhi — just four days. The Delhi team that didn’t qualify in the last four seasons was almost the same, barring a few players. I just reminded them that if they wanted to progress, they’d have to dominate the opposition. That was the only difference this year — no magic potion,” she said with a smile.

Top performers included Shweta Sehrawat (169 runs in six matches), Ayushi Soni (138), Priya Punia (130), Bharti Rawal (10 wickets), and Nazma and Parunika Sisodia (nine each).

Batsmen turn bowlers

Delhi also began well in the Ranji Trophy, collecting three crucial points from a draw against the hosts, Hyderabad, at the NexGen Cricket Ground, Secunderabad. The visitors secured a vital 118-run first-innings lead largely due to maiden double centuries by opener Sanat Sangwan (211 not out, 470 balls, 21×4, 3×6) and debutant Ayush Doseja (209, 279 balls, 25×4, 5×6), along with an unexpected six-wicket haul by captain and batting mainstay Ayush Badoni.

In Hyderabad’s lone innings, Delhi’s top four specialist bowlers — Navdeep Saini, Simarjeet Singh, Shivam Sharma, and debutant Rounak Waghela — went wicketless. Opening batsman Arpit Rana bagged three wickets, while left-arm spinner Sumit Mathur claimed the other.

Doseja’s purple patch

Doseja, 23, was in fine form for his franchise, West Delhi Lions (WDL) in the DPL T20, scoring 300 runs — including one century and two fifties — in 11 matches at a strike rate of 136.99. He carried that form into the Ranji Trophy.

The left-hander credited former India pacer and WDL head coach Sanjeev Sharma for his encouragement when preparations ahead of the DPL weren’t going as planned. “Sanjeev sir motivated me constantly. As a result, I made a good start for my franchise,” Doseja told Patriot.

“My grandfather, Sundar Shyam Doseja, who is now 82, has played an important role in shaping my cricket career. When I was small, he’d take me to the matches I played. So, he was very happy with my Ranji debut,” said Doseja, who scored 353 runs — including one century and four fifties — at an average of 88.25 in the BCCI’s 50-over Under-23 State A Trophy last season.

“He is a very disciplined boy, and he has cricket knowledge. He knows his weaknesses before the coach knows it. It’s a great sign. I told him that T20 format can be played any time, but if you excel in red-ball cricket, which brings along much more pressure, T20 and one-day formats would extend your career,” Sharma said.

“I told him to now score big runs against strong teams like Mumbai because such teams would have watched you closely after this double century — hide your weaknesses and show your strengths to the opposition,” advised Sharma.

A commerce graduate from Swami Shraddhanand College, Delhi, Doseja was part of the Ranji Trophy squad last year as well, but a twisted ankle halted his progress. He will have no regrets now, having begun the new season strongly.