JOIN USAnil Kumble might have a quite, satisfactory smile on his face seeing Karnataka defending the Ranji Trophy on Thursday with effortless ease.
It was during his reign as the KSCA President the process of harnessing fresh talent in the state began, and he was naturally a chuffed man.
“It is fantastic. They have thoroughly dominated the domestic cricket for the last two years. It is not easy to get into a situation where you are the defending champions and play like one. I think the credit goes to Vinay and the way he led the side and performed. Also, the credit goes for the entire team. Each one of the stood up in tough times in the tournament. Everybody tends to remember only the final and forget the journey,” Kumble told Deccan Herald.
The legendary leg-spinner believed that the team has potential to continue their domination.
Rahul Dravid said it was nice to see fresh faces chipping in whenever the team needed them. “My congratulations to the management, the coaching staff and the players. To win the title one year and then to back it up with another next year is a terrific performance.
“Their hunger and consistency is terrific and that has impressed me the most. Despite all the success they are still hungry and they are humble. This season we have had new players coming in and they immediately performed and that is a huge positive,” said Dravid.
Former India pacer Javagal Srinath too patted the team.
“It is heartening to see the dominating performance of the Karnataka team right through the season. The team never lost focus and stayed on its path and that is creditable. The team has won almost everything in the last two years and I only hope this translates into a bigger stage. All credit to Arun and Mansur too.”
KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel too praised the team. “Winning two titles on the trot is not easy.
“But we had a very strong team and was expected to win. I am confident that this bunch will continue to dominate the domestic circuit.”