Vidarbha led by young Atharva Taide would like to make a winning start as they are clashing against a relatively weaker side. In the recently held Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vidarbha lost the quarterfinal against Delhi. Last season in Group 'B' of Hazare Trophy Vidarbha finished sixth with 12 points recording three victories and four losses. Therefore, they would like to make amend. Vidarbha has a strong batting lineup in the form of Taide, professional players Dhruv Shorey and Karun Nair, and Shubham Dubey. Power hitter Jitesh Sharma is misses out as he has been selected in the Indian team for the five-match T-20 I series beginning at Vizag on Wednesday.
Indian pacer Umesh Yadav is with the team. Therefore he will add strength to the pace attack which also include Darshan Nalkande and Rajneesh Gurbani.
Talking to Lokmat Times ahead of the tournament opener Taide expressed confidence over the team's chances to make it to the knockout. " Our preparation is good. We had played some practice matches during ten-day camp and now the players are rearing to go".
About defeat in the quarterfinal of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy the young skipper said, " Throughout the tournament, we played good cricket and topped the group. Unfortunately, we lost only one match and that was knockout game."
About the opponents Taide said, " We take every game seriously. We can't say that the opponent opponent is weak. We will deliver our best in the tournament.
The group 'B' comprises, Vidarbha, last year's runners-up Maharashtra, Hyderabad, Services, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, and Meghalaya.
'It is a privilege to lead Vidarbha: Taide
After captaining Vidarbha in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, prolific left-handed batsman Atharva Taide is ready to lead the team once again. Asked whether he has any added pressure of captainship he said, " It is a privilege to lead the Vidarbha team and I am thankful to VCA authorities for giving me this opportunity. As far as pressure is concenred, I have already led age group teams. Captainship is not a new thing for me. I will focus on such things which are in my hand".