Ajinkya Rahane has always loved staying under the radar even when he was a highly successful India captain and that possibly explains his affinity for Mumbai's head coach Omkar Salvi, who seems to be cut from the same cloth.
As Mumbai play their 48th Ranji Trophy final, the veteran of 80 plus Tests lavished praise on team's head coach, stating that coaches who aren't "flashy" or "high profile" can be equally adept in their jobs.
In fact, Vidarbha was guided by Usman Ghani, another name that would escape popular attention.
"It shows that you don't need high profile or you don't need flashy coaches to be around the team," Rahane told media in Mumbai on the eve of the big final.
"I mean, you can still be under the radar, stay low profile and yet get the best out of each and every player and Omkar has done that really well. He has that experience," the 35-year-old said.
"He (Salvi) was with Mumbai team before, but in a different role (bowling coach). But now as a head coach, the journey started from May end or June last year and the work which he has done with every player, (the) amount of attention which he has given to each and every player has been amazing," Rahane couldn't stop praising.
Rahane has felt that low profile coaches in India's domestic circuit give freedom and importance to players.
"Also with (the) Vidarbha coach, he's also very low profile. It's good to have low profile coaches. They give importance to players. They give freedom to the players," Rahane said.
"It's a good sign for Indian cricket coaches. Even low profile coaches can do the job for their team," said Rahane.
Lower-order performance impresses skipper
Rahane said he is pleased with the way Mumbai's Nos 9, 10 and 11 have chipped in with crucial knocks with the bat but added that this is 'only the beginning'.
The likes of Shams Mulani, Tushar Deshpande, Tanush Kotian and Mohit Avasthi have all used long handle to good effect.
"That's a big confidence, that's what you want as a captain, (that) everyone is able to bat and it's really good for their individual careers," Rahane said.
He believes in giving freedom to players to express themselves.
"I want to see many players coming from Mumbai and representing India. As a captain, my role is to give them freedom, clarity and understanding their game, what potential they have," he said.
"It is very easy to being a captain, thinking about your own self and thinking about your own game plan. But for me, it's all about how can I get best from each and every individual."
“The potential which we have in our team is amazing. But it is just a beginning and I don't want them to take it lightly,” Rahane said.
Nair backs Vidarbha's "ability to fight back"
Karun Nair on Saturday backed Vidarbha to come good against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy final owing to their ability to fight back from tough situations, an attribute that the two-time winners displayed against Madhya Pradesh in the semifinal.
Vidarbha bounced back strongly in the second innings after being bowled out for a mere 170 in the first to win by 62 runs, setting up the final against Mumbai which starts in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The thrilling and close win against Madhya Pradesh really showed the character in the team, a lot of fighting ability," Nair told PTI Video in an exclusive interview here at the Wankhede Stadium.
"We have always come back from difficult situations, that was another difficult situation (first innings against Madhya Pradesh) where we didn't play quite well to our potential in the first innings, but we came back really hard and won that game," he said.
However, Nair hoped that there is no such situation for the team to deal with in the final.
"But we need to start well in this game and try to be on top, right from the beginning," he said.
Having parted ways with his home state Karnataka ahead of this season, Nair emerged as Vidarbha's leading run-scorer this season in the Ranji Trophy with 616 runs in nine matches at 41.06 with two centuries and as many fifties.
The right-handed Nair, who is only the second Indian after Virender Sehwag to have scored a triple hundred in Test cricket, credited his adaptability for the success.
"It's been an amazing season for me, I have played really well, and playing for a new team is always tough, I think I have adapted really well," he said.
"I have done well in all formats of the game, (be it) in Mushtaq Ali (Trophy), Vijay Hazare (Trophy) and (now) in the Ranji Trophy.
"We have qualified for the knockouts in all formats, and making it to the final in the Ranji Trophy, it cannot get bigger than this, really looking forward to an exciting game," Nair said.
Nair has special memories with the venue for the final, Wankhede Stadium, for having struck a gigantic 328 in the Ranji Trophy 2014-15 final between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu which set up a massive win by an innings and 217 runs.
The 32-year-old, however, wanted to keep his focus on the impending contest and not brood too much on the past.
"If you think of dreams, you will want to repeat that again but you don't think that. You just hope to contribute as much as you can to the team winning," he said.
"To win that game would be my first objective but if the opportunity comes and I am set then scoring a big hundred would always mean special to me," Nair added.
With the Ranji final featuring several International players, Nair said the Vidarbha side wants to keep the focus on their processes and not any other factor.
"It's about playing as a unit and as a team. Obviously, they have individuals that can change the course of a game but we are not thinking about that, we want to do our processes and our routine as well as we can and after that whatever is the result, we will take that," he added.
