ORANGE Tigers and Tigresses owner Inu Majumdar wants her sides to play confidently but at the same time warns them not to be over-confident in the second season of the Vidarbha Premier League T20 Cricket Tournament which begins from Monday at VCA Jamtha Stadium. Orange Tigers will begin their campaign from June 2 against Bharat Rangers in an evening encounter (7.30 pm). The women’s event will kick-off on June 7 and Orange Tigresses will take on Neco Master Blaster on June 8 at VCA, Civil Lines ground. “The team’s josh is very high. The boys are confident and ready for the first game. We have learned from past mistakes and will try not to repeat them this season,” said Majumdar who is handling the management of both the teams. While the boys’ team reached the semi-finals, the girls went on to lift the coveted trophy last season. Imu said the girls have more responsibility this season being the title holders. “Our girls have won the title and they have the bigger responsibility this time.

 

The expectations will be high so the girls will have to be ready to fulfil those expectations. It will be a big challenge and Nagpur Tigresses are ready to accept it,” she said, Majumdar wants gender equality in sports where men and women are treated at par. “I think even today the women’s cricket is not getting the promotion and the publicity it should get. We are still living in the male dominated society. Abhijit Realtors always tries to give equal treatment to both the teams. Our women’s team is always ready for every thing, be it video shooting, training or anything. They are eager to learn. So...we want to promote sport as non-gender biased,” said Majumdar. The franchise, which is in real estate business, has jumped into the sports arena and it is only because of Abhijit Majumdar, husband of Imu. “It is purely his (Abhijit’s) decision to venture in the sporting field.

 

“He, being a former national-level hockey player, was always inclined towards sports. “Earlier, I was sceptical about this but he was sure that we must enter into this venture,” she recalled. Majumdar said the girls are more jovial as compared to boys who looked shy while making reels. Majumdar said the team has worked in ironing out last year’s flaws. “We are trying to learn from those mistakes of last season. I want team to enjoy the tournament and play freely. I want players to support team-mates when under pressure and move forward. I want them to be confident but at the same time shouldn’t be over confident...Team bonding is the biggest strength and that’s what will take us forward,” she hoped. The franchise roped in wicketkeeper-batter Vishesh Ram Tiwari for Rs 7 lakh and Majumdar said they wanted to strengthen that department. “We were lagging behind in wicketkeeping. So we wanted to fill that gap. We wanted a good batter and wicketkeeper and hence we went all out for Vishesh.

 

He is a hard-hitter and an all-rounder,” she explained. “Yash Rathod will be leading the team and Dhruv Shorey will be the vice-captain,” added Majumdar. Majumdar said the team has trained hard for the past 15 days and is ready for their opening game. “The training was intense since past 15 days. The boys are aggressive and have done well in practice matches. We have also lost in a practice match and that was very important as we got to know where we lag behind. I would like to mention the rigorous training from Raju Singh sir who is our assistant coach. He is very disciplined and guiding the team very well. He has inculcated the Army discipline in the team,” Majumdar informed. On team composition, Majumdar said, “We have got the teams of our liking unlike last season were VCA had handed over the teams to us. Our team is well balanced with good number of batsmen and bowlers and most of them are all-rounders,” she concluded.