Jharkhand State Cricket Association Joint Secretary Shahbaz Nadeem revealed the role played by MS Dhoni in their SMAT victory. He said Dhoni took interest in every player and followed the matches closely.
Former players Shahbaz Nadeem and Saurabh Tiwary are the joint secretaries of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA), appointed before the start of the season.
The JSCA has appointed Ratan Kumar as head coach after his eight years of coaching experience in Jharkhand age group cricket. They have appointed Sunny Gupta as bowling coach. Both appointments took place on the advice of former Indian captain MS Dhoni, Jharkhand’s most famous cricketer.
“He wants them to succeed.”
Nadeem reportedly told ESPNCricinfo: “When we started the season, from the appointment of the technical staff, we always took into account his [Dhoni’s] advice and suggestions. And he also takes keen interest in the Jharkhand team. He wants them to succeed. It feels good that such a great player is paying special attention to our team.
“And I’ll tell you one thing, he follows every game very closely. He followed the entire [SMAT] tournament, noted all the strengths and weaknesses of the players and discussed with us.
Nadeem added, “He knows the stats and figures of every Jharkhand national player. He is very interested in helping Jharkhand cricket grow.”
Jharkhand’s winning campaign
Jharkhand is having a memorable SMAT season, winning 10 matches out of 11. They topped the group comprising Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, all champions in previous seasons.
Ishan Kishan was their standout batter scoring 517 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 197.32. He also finished as the tournament’s top scorer. His performance earned him a call-up to the Indian camp for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Stay up to date with all the cricket action, follow Cricadium on WhatsApp, Facebook, TwitterTelegram and Instagram
