Suhrid Barua Pune Mirror
May 18 ,2008

Pune: The last time the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) hired an Australian - Darren Holder as director of cricket and Ranji coach in the 2005-06 season - Chandrakant Pandit closely worked with him as a high performance coach. A year later, Holder decided to pack his bags and go home, making way for Pandit who served the State team for two seasons before stepping down last year.And even as the MCA gets ready to welcome another Australian - Shaun Williams to its fold, there is a sense of anticipation and expectation about how he can contribute in furthering the development of Maharashtra cricket.

Ask Chandrakant Pandit, “It’s definitely a step in the right direction. MCA has been always looking ahead in terms of development and improvement and I’m not surprised with their decision,” he said. Pandit, who himself quit in controversial circumstances, believes MCA must have taken a long hard look before arriving at a decision. I’m sure the association under the able stewardship of Ajay Shirke have made the right move. Shaun Willians has served in various coaching capacities for Bangladesh cricket. “He has even served as an interim coach of the Bangladesh national side, he will bring a lot of experience to the table. I’m sure his appointment has been made keeping the future in mind,” Pandit opined.


One couldn’t resist the temptation of asking him whether Williams would be able to do justice to the dual responsibilites of director of cricket and Ranji coach. “Look, there is no denying the fact that there is going to be a lot of work. But I won’t say that anybody is going to be overburdened. If the person appointed for the job has the passion to delegate his duties, then I don’t see any problem,” Pandit explained.


Pandit, however, did strike a discordant note. “My only worry is the communication part. When I worked with Darren Holder, I found out that most boys were able to understand what he was saying but were not able to communicate with him. That’s not surprising since some cricketers come from the districts and don’t speak fluent English,” he added.