Punjab coach Wasim Jaffer said that it would highly motivate young cricketers if some senior stars will play domestic cricket in India, displaying the example of Shubman Gill, vice captain of team India in ODI cricket.
Gill will play for Punjab in their match against Karnataka in Elite Group C match Ranji Trophy starting on Thursday to be followed by such top stars as Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja during this round.
“If one wants to be an International cricketer, then you want to be successful, then all that is something young guys need to learn from iconic players because of how they have approached their game. It is certainly motivational,” Jaffer said to media persons who had converged here.
“Well, in our case, any younger sort of rookie entering the side, Gill can see on close quarters about him, how he goes about, how he readies himself, and he actually plays: when, in the hotel, how does that all work. It is quite a learning thing. I’m pretty sure a lot of the young guys that we have in our side will be doing that,” he said.
So, hopefully with Gill, young boys could see how he goes about his work, how he reads himself, how he plays.” While Punjab will expect the services of Gill, they will miss the services of their left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, and opening batsman Abhishek Sharma as the said trio feels for the T20I series against England.
“All through the season, we have gone through that. In fact, in the Ranji Trophy, we missed Prabh Simran Singh, Nehal Vadhera, Arshdeep, and Abhishek Singh due to the Emerging tour. In fact, Abhishek has not played any Ranji Trophy this season.
“We are happy they’re playing for India. They’re always ready to be available quickly to come and play, which is a good thing. And it (their absence) gives opportunity to the younger guys to come and show their mettle,” he added.
Punjab are currently playing Karnataka in a must-win game that will ascertain their chances and only stand behind them for the moment in their group, Jaffer commented pointing out that it is better to stay focused instead of being carried away in pressure situations.
“Of course, no matter where we stand in the table, we play against a strong unit called Karnataka. The field here looks like a wicket, which is going to give you a result. It doesn’t look like a flat wicket.
“You want to play on a sporting pitch that gives a result, but you always have to look to win. That’s the way we are going. We have got a very young side as well as Shubhman, which is a positive for us as he is available right now. So, it is a good opportunity to compete with a good side,” Jaffer said.
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