Pride is rarely a motivational factor in Indian sport. Ego, yes, money, definitely (in the blue moon when it’s available), but pride in one’s team or one’s teammates is as alien as a full house at a Ranji match. So the Baroda Ranji team comes as a waft of cool air in this scorching heat for the sheer passion they exhibit for the game and, significantly, for the Ranji Trophy. The second point is perhaps more important than the first, given that the venerable trophy is now treated almost as an inconvenient necessity. The top stars don’t bother with turning out for Ranji matches — though, happily, there are signs that that attitude is changing among the younger lot — and the public follows suit.For the Baroda team, though, playing Ranji cricket is what they live for. Ajit Bhoite, who made his debut for Baroda in 1996 and has played 33 Ranji Trophy matches, sums it up: ‘‘Playing for Baroda is like playing for India.’’ And that pride and commitment has been one major reason for the team’s success in the tournament over the past few years — they are playing their third semi-final in a row. The attitude is exemplified by Zaheer Khan, who turned down the opportunity of playing county cricket but has reunited with his old friends to test out the fast track on his home turf against the glamour boys from Mumbai. In fact, he phoned selector Kiran More from the international tournament in Bangladesh to say he wanted to take part in the semis.Though just three or four players in the team have a full-time job, they still consider the pride of playing for Baroda more important than the money it fetches them and more even than their studies. Zaheer, it is learnt, has resisted several efforts to take him back to Bombay, saying he’d rather play for the team that gave him his break.Bhoite, a middle-order batsman and off-spinner who has been playing league cricket in England for the past three years, says the Baroda team commands a lot of respect even abroad. ‘‘Because we’ve been doing so well on the domestic circuit for the past few years, even players abroad look upon us with a lot of respect. And we are what we are because we play for Baroda; if I was not playing for Baroda even you would not be calling me up.’’Given the small size of its talent pool, Baroda has been supplying a steady stream of players to the Indian team and is, of course, home to two of the most promising fast bowlers. ‘‘The competition now is so high that if you don’t perform in a few matches you are liable to be dropped, so we are all very keen to perform’’, says Bhoite.One person who has been performing is ex-captain Tushar Arothe; he’s been performing for 100 Ranji matches, in fact, and was felicitated before the semi-final got under way. Arothe is the quintessential Ranji player but Baroda has several others, including Jacob Martin and Connor Williams, who have done conistently well on the domestic circuit.Maybe the compactness adds to the community feeling and helps in the bonding. ‘‘It’s such a good unit’’, says left-arm spinner Valmik Buch. ‘‘There is no difference between juniors and seniors, no tu-tu, main-main in the team. Whenever I have been down, whoever the captains may have been, they have helped me, and even the smallest things you do are appreciated.’’Bhoite agrees. Team spirit has contributed more than anything else to Baroda’s success in the past two years. ‘‘Except for two or three seniors, all of us in the team are from almost the same batch, we played under-19 cricket together and gel very well as a team.’’Opener Satyajit Parab considers playing for Baroda more important than his studies — and that’s something, given that he’s currently taking a Master’s degree. ‘‘We are combining well, we have a very good pace attack, such things are very inspiring. Uppermost in my mind when I walk in to open the batting is to perform well for the team. To perform for the team is more important than to perform for oneself.’’
