Team unity behind Assam's remarkable season

For the past couple of years, the Ranji Trophy has seen a lot of minor teams punch above their weight and surprise their more-fancied opponents. In 2012-13 it was Services who made it to the semi-finals, while Maharashtra's fairy-tale journey saw them reach the finals the following season. This year, while all the talk had been about Karnataka's dominance and Delhi's resurgence, Group C team Assam have scripted a remarkable season. With 37 points - most by any team in the league stages - Assam have well and truly been the surprise package this season.

With the likes of Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh in the group, no one gave Assam any chance to qualify, but coach Sanath Kumar had the belief in his team to do well. After leading Karnataka to the 2009-10 Ranji final and Baroda to the quarter-final in 2012-13, Kumar took over the reins of Assam, the team he had coached back in 2005-06.

"I was always confident that they have the potential and with the right backing, they will perform well and that is what they have done," says Kumar. "The problem earlier was there was a lack of backing for these guys and this time we changed that. If you look at the 16-member squad that we selected for the first game has been persisted with. We have not changed the squads."

Skipper Dheeraj Jadhav, a domestic heavyweight with 102 first-class games under his belt and the mainstay of Assam's batting line-up after shifting his base from Maharashtra, asked for the captaincy role this year and took upon himself the responsibility of helping the team qualify for the elite group.

"Before the season I asked for captaincy, because I have been playing as a professional for the last five years for Assam and I was performing well," states Jadhav. "But cricket is not just about individual achievements, so I decided before the season that I will take up the challenge of taking my team to the elite division."

Jadhav's resolve paid off as Assam racked up wins against Tripura, Services, Hyderabad, Goa and Andhra - taking bonus points on four occasions. Jadhav says the credit goes to the team, especially the local players who stepped up in a big way.

"The main reason for our success is the performance from our local boys. We have a good team with some experienced guys and youngsters and they have gelled together as a unit really well. This is the first time that Assam have played consistently well. We had five outright wins this season, and that has been because of the performances from all players. And the performances have not come from one or two players but every one has contributed and that is why we have reached this stage," says Jadhav.

"I wanted to give them freedom; the opportunity to perform," elaborates Jadhav. "I told them to play well consistently. Instead of one or two innings, you will get four or five chances. Score fifties, I don't expect hundreds, but just be consistent and that is how I started releasing the pressure from the batsmen. For the bowlers, I told that I will set the field and expect them to bowl accordingly. If I set a field with five players on the off side, they have to bowl all the six deliveries on the offside, not a single bowl on the leg-stump, and that is how we started planning, and to be honest, it clicked this season, and what you are seeing now is the hard work we put in the off-season."

In Kumar's view, the success is mainly because of the stability they were able to achieve with the current squad. "Our target was to qualify for the elite group from the beginning," says Kumar. "Right from the KSCA tournament, Buchi Babu and the practice games, we worked on our plan. Discussed what combination to play and stuck to the same combination throughout. We had bad games in between but we didn't change our squad. Basically we backed them. Earlier, there used to be a lot of changes, but I knew this was the best available talent and we had to support them."

Kumar also points out that not only the influx of professional players has helped Assam, but also their involvement with the team has been a huge boost. Apart from Jadhav, KB Arun Karthick and JP Mohammad Syed - both from Tamil Nadu - have been an integral part of Assam's successful campaign.

"The outstation professionals are doing very a good job. These guys are very much involved with the team and that is making a huge difference. Normally with professional players, they come and play and there is no involvement, but these guys are very different. They encourage the local guys," adds Kumar. Jadhav concurs with him.

"The professional players have been really good for us," says Jadhav. "They are the senior players in the side, and even when they are not in the playing XI, they are around the team and advise the youngsters in the nets or in practice, so it is a good combination to have."

But Kumar is quick to warn that Assam will have to build on this good season and for that, the system has to improve. "Assam's problem is that we don't have any bench strength. Except for these 16 we have here, we don't have enough quality in our back-up players," says Kumar. "Assam has to work really hard in this aspect. These guys are all 27-28 years old and they will play like this for another 3-4 years, but after that, I can't say we have these kinds of players coming out. What I saw in under-19, under-23, I don't have much hope. And that is mainly because of the system.

"Assam doesn't have any league system, there is district cricket and only two-three strong ones and the rest are just not good enough. The competition level in Assam is very poor. Unless and until we seriously work with academies and give these guys facilities, it will be difficult for us," laments Kumar. "I told the Association that don't get swayed by this year's performance. This might be a fluke. There is no guarantee that Assam will churn out performances like this in the future. I have warned them that unless you don't improve the system, things won't improve much."

After the high of 2014-15, Assam will face a stern test next season when they play the big teams in Group A and Jadhav will be hoping that the team is able to work as a unit again, while Sanath will be expecting better support from the association.