Calcutta: Sambaran Banerjee feels the current Bengal team has gone through more difficult conditions than his 1989-90 Ranji Trophy winning side.
“I don’t want to compare the two teams, but it is true that Deep Dasgupta’s team has gone through tougher conditions. We had some easy matches in the zonal phase and faced strong opposition only from the pre-quarter final stage.
“But things aren’t the same now. There’s no time to relax. Playing the Elite group is like playing with fire from the outset. Any wrong step and it may prove to be a disaster,” he told The Telegraph on Monday.
The former national selector was all praise for Deep.
“Deep has done a terrific job. All credit to him and Paras Mhambrey. Deep is liked and accepted by everyone in the team? He’s so sober.”
He feels that the current lot deserves more credit because most of the players have come through the CAB system.
“It’s a blessing for Bengal cricket. Ninety per cent of the players have been groomed locally. They’ve also proved that they can perform without Sourav.
“The biggest plus is that all the players have contributed to this success. Laxmi Ratan Shukla is the key man. He is a matchwinner. Subhamoy Das is compact and his return to form is good news. The team is compact and there is no dependant on any individual,” Sambaran explained.
This was also pointed out by Mhambrey.
“Consistent performance by each and every individual has made the difference. People have come out and performed when it counted. The whole team is a find. The positive approach has come in handy,” the Bengal coach said.
Deep credited this resurgence to the mindset of the players.
“The mindset has changed. We were eager to take ourselves one step further. All the players worked hard and there was support from all quarters.”
Mhambrey said he wasn’t reading too much into Uttar Pradesh’s strengths in the final.
“Any side that has reached the final is good. We will try and concentrate on our own game and stick to our gameplan. As long as we can do that, the results will be encouraging.”
