‘Motivation for young players to see senior players in domestic cricket’: Punjab head coach Wasim Jaffer

Citing the example of Indian ODI team vice-captain Shubman Gill playing for his team, Punjab head coach Wasim Jaffer said the presence of senior stars in the domestic arena will be a “motivating” factor for young cricketers. Gill will feature for Punjab against Karnataka in the Elite Group C Ranji Trophy match in Bengaluru on Thursday, and this round of the tournament will also feature other top stars like Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja.

“If you want to become an international cricketer and succeed, this is what young people have to learn from these guys (senior stars) the way they play their game. It’s quite motivating,” Jaffer told reporters.

“In our case, if any young player comes into the team, he will see him (Gill) from close distance. The way he goes about his business, the way he prepares, the way he plays.”

“When he’s in the hotel, how he prepares. This is quite an instructive thing. I am sure that many young guys from our side will do this,” he added.

While Punjab will have the services of Gill, they will be without left-arm spinner Arshdeep Singh and opener Abhishek Sharma as the duo is part of the Indian T20I squad against England.

“We’ve been going through this all season. Even in the Ranji Trophy, we lost Prabha Simran Singh, Nehal Vadhera, Ashdeep and Abhishek as they were on the Emerging tour. In fact, Abhishek has not played a single Ranji Trophy match. this season.

“We are happy that they are playing for India. But when they are available, they always come and play, which is good. And this (their absence) gives young guys the opportunity to come and show their character.” “he added.

Punjab are currently fifth in the group and will face Karnataka in a must-win match and Jaffer said this is an opportunity for the team to show their mettle in a difficult situation.

“Obviously, no matter where we are in the table, we are playing against a strong Karnataka team. The pitch here is like a wicket that will give you results. It doesn’t look like a flat wicket.

“You want to play on a sports field. But you need to strive to win. We adhere to this approach. We also have a very young team but it is good that Shubman is available. a good opportunity to demonstrate my skills against a good team,” he said.

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