MP’s talisman Shubham Sharma looks back at their Ranji winning season

From a middle-order batter struggling to retain his place in the squad to being the talisman for Madhya Pradesh, Shubham Sharma opens up on things that were different this season.

Even though the 28-year-old was the captain of MP last year, his performances were under par. He desperately needed some change to revitalize his career, which came in the shape of Chandrakant Pandit.

Pandit was a man on a mission to reclaim what he lost 23 years back. He brought a winning team's much-needed discipline and mentality into the MP squad. 

"The culture that sir (Pandit) has brought, be it discipline, planning, or game awareness, that is the reason for this success (Ranji Trophy title). He made changes to the batting order after observing everyone bats. As a result, the batting line-up this year was very different. Very few of our batsmen had played before at the position they batted this year," stated Shubham.

Shubham was a middle-order batter who came up at No.6, and so was Yash Dubey, who also played an essential role in the championship run. "A year ago, when he (Pandit) saw me bat for the first time, he told me, 'Be prepared. You will bat at No 3.' I would bat at No. 6 or 7 earlier," 

These words from the head coach gave him a lot of confidence to achieve something that many deemed impossible.

The ex-skipper had only scored three centuries before this season, after debuting in 2013. He scored four centuries in a span of just six matches this season. The pick of them all would be the scintillating 116 from 215 balls in the finals. Partnering up with Yash Dubey, they managed to add 222 runs, which clearly deflated the Mumbai side.

The change in mentality was clearly evident in how he played this season. "When I was batting against Gujarat, sir sent in a message that I should avoid playing the square-cut. So, I avoided it. There was some pace and bounce on the wicket, and there are times when your body positioning is not great on a particular day. So, that decision helped me a lot," said Shubham. 

He scored 92 and an unbeaten 103 runs in MP's first match against the Priyank Panchal-led side.

After that, he didn't have to look back as he scored centuries against Meghalaya, Punjab in the quarter-final and Mumbai in the finals.

Indeed, the squad toiled hard to win their maiden Ranji Trophy title, but a particular structure and discipline brought out the best from all. They started their preparations early and were able to have the edge over proven opposition. 

They practised under the lights in Indore to ensure they were prepared for any situation. They even arrived in Bangalore 2 weeks before the knockout, "We reached Bangalore on May 20 itself for the knockouts. We were sure that we were not there just to play the quarter-finals this time." Subham pointed out.

Apart from being crowned as champions this season, MP will have a lot of positives to take forward for the next season. Under the leadership of Chandrakant Pandit and Aditya Shrivastava, this squad will try to replicate the winning formula in future tournaments. 

The new structure seems to provide much balance and depth to the team and brings out the best from each individual. The 30-year-old Gaurav Yadav, who took 23 wickets along with Kumar Kartikeya with 32 this season, pocketed the big names in the tournament. "Batters win you games, bowlers win you tournaments," this statement was brought to life by MP's bowling department. 

Living the dream, Subham and his boys will want to extend this run and prove that this season wasn't just a fluke. 

"Who knows, a message can come any day that next season's preparations have to be started," says Shubham, who is ready to show his worth again in the most challenging grind of Indian domestic cricket.