The cricket season is about to begin and our boys will be encountering the toughest group this year. Starting against the previous two years' Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka, a formidable side, Assam will face Rajasthan, Odisha, Vidharbha, Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra and Bengal in Group A.

The mindset of all the players should be very positive and play the tournament with a motive to win matches rather to survive in the group. If we can transform this attitude of positivity, the result will definitely favour us.

We have made a mistake earlier by trying to survive and we ultimately came under pressure and got ourselves relegated the same year. The mindset of this bunch of players was very positive last year and that's why we became champions in Group C and eventually played the quarter-finals. The need of the hour is to continue with this attitude.

The think-tank of the ACA should now realise that our guys have the potential and ability to play in the longer version of cricket and for that we have to encourage the cricketers and try to create a strong bench. The money we are utilising for professional players should now be used on developing our infrastructure and the local players' exposure. Playing few warm-up games prior to the season won't help develop cricketing abilities and temperament of the individuals. We should have yearlong programme so that our boys get accustomed to the longer version.

Last but not the least, I would like to wish our boys good luck for the ensuing season and urge them to play positive cricket.

You have made us proud in the past and we have full faith that this year, too, you guys will make us proud.

 

The writer is a former Assam Ranji captain and batting coach of the Indian Railways Ranji team. A former CEO of Bangladesh Premier League, he is also a selector of the Railways junior team