With an aim to end their two-decade-long Ranji Trophy drought, Railways will kick off their campaign against Uttarkhand at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Railways will once again have a new home and they will play their “home” matches in Mumbai. Railways, the two-time Ranji Trophy Champions, will have their first practice session at the Cricket Club of India on Wednesday (October 7). Ahead of the new season, Railways head coach Syedd Zakaria Zuffri spoke exclusively to Sports Now regarding the team’s preparations, their new home and life after Karn Sharma. Excerpts:
Sports Now: How have the pre-season preparations been before the Ranji Trophy season?
Zuffri: The preparations have been very positive. We have tried to create clarity around roles, standards and expectations right from the beginning. We have worked hard on our skills, fitness, match scenarios and, importantly, our mindset. We know that Ranji Trophy is a long competition, so consistency is going to be the key. We are not looking at just preparing for the first match; we are preparing the team to perform across the entire season.”
Sports Now: Karn Sharma played for Railways for nearly two decades and also played for India after performing well in domestic cricket. How well prepared are you for the season?
Zuffri: Karn Sharma has made a tremendous contribution to Railways cricket, and obviously you cannot replace a player of his experience overnight. But cricket is also about creating the next generation. We have some very capable players who are ready to take responsibility. My job as a coach is to give them the confidence, clarity and environment to express themselves. We respect what Karn has contributed, but we are focused on what we can build from here.
Sports Now: Railways will have a new home once again. Does playing away from home take away the home advantage? Will it be a big challenge?
Zuffri: Every team would like to have a familiar home venue, but we don’t want to use that as an excuse. For us, home advantage is not only about the pitch or the venue-it is about our preparation, our mindset and how we play our cricket. Wherever we play, we want our identity to remain the same. Of course, adapting to different conditions will be a challenge, but I see that as an opportunity for the players to become better cricketers.”
Q4. Railways haven’t won the Ranji Trophy for two decades. As the head coach, how do you plan to end that long wait?
Zuffri: Twenty years is a long time, and we respect the history, but we don’t want to carry the burden of those 20 years into a new season. We want to create our own chapter.
For me, it starts with the small things-preparation, discipline, role clarity, fitness, decision-making and execution under pressure. We want to build a team that is difficult to beat over four days. We are not going to talk about winning the trophy every morning; we are going to focus on winning each session, each day and each game. If we get those processes right consistently, we give ourselves a strong opportunity to go all the way.”
Sports Now: Can you name a few players from the Railways camp to watch out for who could make the jump to the Duleep Trophy, IPL or India A?
Zuffri: I think we have several players who have the potential to play at the next level. But as a coach, I don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on young players by making big predictions about them. What I can say is that there is genuine talent in this group.
Our responsibility is to create an environment where players are ready for the next opportunity-whether that is Duleep Trophy, India A or the IPL. If they consistently perform for Railways, those opportunities will come. I would rather let their performances do the talking.”
Our ambition is very clear: we want Railways to be known not just for producing good players, but for producing a team that is consistently competitive, mentally tough and capable of challenging for the Ranji Trophy.