When Prithvi Shaw first came into the Mumbai side, Chandrakant Pandit was the coach and as he captains the 41-time champions in the Ranji final against Madhya Pradesh, the shrewd tactician will be at the other end. Mumbai is batting first against Madhya Pradesh in the title clash. “I think after five years, I could make an eye contact with Chandu sir,” Shaw laughed cheekily. “It wasn’t like this in 2016 or 17. Everyone knows Chandu sir is a tough man and it is good to meet sir after a long time.
“I think he has done well for MP as they have reached the finals after so many years. We just spoke for a couple of minutes and may be we are both getting into the zone of finals and didn’t want to talk much.”
At his corner will be domestic legend Amol Muzumdar and Shaw termed his guidance as a “privilege”.
“Everyone knows Amol sir has played a lot of domestic cricket and scored a lot of runs and he has all the experience and we are very lucky to have him,” he said.
“Its good to have Amol sir in the dressing room, sharing all his experiences. It’s a privilege. On and off the field he is very calm and we all enjoy his company, and what he has done for Mumbai cricket is exceptional and I hope he is really happy about how we players have responded.”
Shaw and the two pillars of this Mumbai team, Arman Jaffer and this season’s top-scorer Sarfaraz Khan have one thing in common — they have all been students of the same school Rizvi Springfields, known for its formidable cricket team that dominates Harris and Giles Shield (iconic Mumbai school tournaments) events.
“Myself, Sarfaraz and Arman went to the same school (Rizvi Springfield) at the age of 9-10. We came up together and all three of us are doing pretty good so far for Mumbai cricket,” one could sense his pride.
While it is Prithvi’s second Ranji Trophy final (he played one in 2017 vs Gujarat), Arman and Sarfaraz will be playing their first summit clash.
“It’s about how we look at this game and it’s going to be a different pressure for a lot of people,” he said.
“And we have got a young side and not many of them have played these kind of finals and are not experienced that much.
“But they are ready for it and what they are doing since the league games is what I am watching. We have got a skillful, talented side and what they have achieved till now, they just have to carry on for one more game.”
