As umpire K Sharma signalled four,the batsmen at the crease punched their gloves and hugged in the middle celebrating their four wicket win over Air India in the finals of the DDCA Hot Weather Cricket Tournament. Watching from the teams pavilion,Food Corporation of India (FCI) coach Ravi Kant Sharma was a pleasantly surprised man. I had wanted to win one trophy,but its great to win two and both the major ones. said the overjoyed coach. The win in the premier event of Delhi club crickets summer circuit came a little over a month after winning the Premier Division trophy of the DDCA league in which top 15 teams of the Capital compete and the double win was the first in FCIs history. The coachs subsequent reaction is all the more plausible considering that only last year FCI,were out of title contention in the early stages of the league and had lost in the opening round of the Hot Weather Tournament. Talking about last years debacle,Ravikant Sharma who took over as coach last September after initially playing for the side,said that his team was short on confidence and hence the results. Also without taking names,Sharma added that many players were playing for themselves,and the team was facing issues on the fitness front as well. Sharma who had a stint in Durham earlier and who also has a coaching diploma from the ECB said coaching did not and could not have been responsible for the turnaround. At most a coach can point out flaws and suggest corrections,and even that is difficult after a certain point. The only thing that I think made a difference was ensuring that the players believed in themselves and respected each other. We won because more than any other team we played the most as a unit. The FCI team is a mixed team consisting of senior players including those who are regulars for their states Ranji squads such as Paras Dogra,who is a Himachal regular. The side also consists of many unheralded but promising players like India U-19 player Ankit Rawat and youngsters who are part of the FCI squad as part of a scholarship programme. In fact,contributions have been made by the senior players as well as the rookies. In the finals of the DDCA Hot Weather Tournament,Paras Dogra top scored for the team with 57 runs and held the innings together as he had throughout the tournament,after a difficult phase at the start of the innings while Mandeep Singh who is in the final year of a three year scholarship and who Sharma rates highly took 5 wickets to stifle the Air India innings. Towards the end when a flurry of quick wickets tilted the match once more in Air Indias favour some resolute batting by another scholarship player -Rohit Saini saw FCI through. Like any coach Ravikant says that despite the success in the tournament he wants his players to go on and achieve bigger things. Players like Mandeep have been desperately unlucky never to play for their state side. Mandeep played for the under 16 level but for whatever reasons,has been unable to push ahead. There are others too. They are playing via the scholarship scheme,but how long can someone sustain himself and convince his family about his career choice on a stipend of Rs 5000. I am trying my level best to ensure that these players get a chance at the next level. Brief scores: Air India 170 all out in 39.4 overs (Deepak Joon 52,Robin Bisht 40,Mandeep Singh 5/35); FCI 174 for 6 in 34.5 overs (Paras Dogra 57,Amit Mishra 32,Amit Bakshi 3/30,Y Chahal 2/23)
