Vidarbha: Humble, hungry and making their presence felt in Indian cricket

Keeping feet on the ground can also be a team's main strength in helping them become champions.

- Sanjjeev K Samyal

MUMBAI: Ask Ranji Trophy winners Vidarbha.

"We don't have big names, we are a very humble team. We are very simple team in our thought process, not very flamboyant; players who want to win the domestic tournaments. I have seen a lot of players in the country now who just want to play in IPL and they are happy with that," said Faiz Fazal, a stalwart of Vidarbha cricket who led the side for many seasons before retirement last season.

This desire to be taken seriously in domestic cricket has helped Vidarbha become a force. Since their first Ranji title in 2017-18 under Faiz, it's been a stunning transformation for Vidarbha. On Sunday, they beat Kerala to win their third title from four finals in seven years.

The most impressive aspect has been how solid Vidarbha looked. There were no scrappy wins; the showing was solid all the way to the title.