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East Zone’s Duleep Trophy triumph on Thursday, their first since 2012, offered perhaps the clearest indication yet of the strength of Jharkhand’s emerging batting core. Captain Ishan Kishan led from the front, aggregating 350 runs in the final, while Shikhar Mohan, Kumar Kushagra, Md Kounain Quraishi and Anukul Roy were among the Jharkhand players who made significant contributions during the campaign. When we won Mushtaq Ali last year, the first congratulatory message I received was by Mahi bhai,” JSCA secretary and former India and Jharkhand batter Saurabh Tiwary said of Dhoni.
Once a regular in the Indian Premier League, Tiwary said Dhoni’s involvement has grown significantly and that his interest in the state setup remains remarkably close. Dhoni can, according to Tiwary, “name Jharkhand’s playing XI any day and keeps a close watch on emerging players”. KOLKATA: Mahendra Singh Dhoni ’s influence on Jharkhand cricket has never needed an official designation. Even after stepping away from the domestic cricket long ago, the former India captain continues to leave his imprint quietly, helping shape a young generation that is now beginning to make its presence felt at the highest domestic level across formats. “Whenever he is free and in Ranchi, he visits the (JSCA) stadium. From juniors to seniors, when camps are going on, he comes himself, talks to people and gets involved. “He keeps telling us which players are good and should be watched. He also speaks to players whenever they get an opportunity to meet him and tells them how to perform. The most important thing he discusses with them is how to read the game.
That is a huge mental factor when you are playing at the top level,” Tiwary told TOI on Thursday.
Former Jharkhand player Ishank Jaggi and now their U-23 coach, who has also worked closely with several of the state’s younger cricketers, believes the current crop has developed a greater understanding of their game. The Player of the Match in the 2012 Duleep Trophy final – the last time East Zone was triumphant – Dhoni remains closely connected with the state’s cricket ecosystem despite his busy schedule, according to Jaggi. The title, naturally, was a collective East Zone achievement. Bengal supplied considerable experience through Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Gharami and Shahbaz Ahmed, while Bihar’s teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also made his mark in the semifinal with the fastest half-century in the history of the tournament. But the performance of Jharkhand’s young middle-order batters provided one of the strongest threads running through East Zone’s campaign.