The Ratnagiri Jets snagged a total of seven players at the Maharashtra Premier League Player Auction to complete their squad. The defending champions, Ratnagiri Jets went to the auction with the most retained players out of all the teams (15) and had a clear vision of the gaps they needed to fill for the upcoming season of the MPL.
“We begin as defending champions, but that is the distant past. Our focus is on the present, as our responsibility to prepare for the contest began a while back and will never end. We look forward to the challenges this new season brings.” Said Mr. Ranjit Pande, Head Coach.
Led by Azim Kazi, a seasoned campaigner for Maharashtra, the Ratnagiri Jets won the inaugural season of the MPL which made the decision very easy to retain most of the squad. The first season of the MPL showed the willingness of the players to put their hand up for the team and there was a total of 5 different Man of the Matches that the team won, which is a testament to the number of match winners that Ratnagiri Jets can boast of.
Owned by JetSynthesys, a new-age digital entertainment and technology company with a global foray in key verticals like gaming and esports, digital entertainment and wellness; the Ratnagiri Jets have been pioneers for grassroots cricket in the region. The success of the team can be attributed to the Jets Club ecosystem where most of the MPL pros are on paid contracts to turn out for the team in all formats in addition to teams in under 14, under 16, under 19, under 23 and senior pros allowing them to work as a unit all season. The management’s auction strategy was simple and focused on the skill set that the team needed. The gaps identified by the Ratnagiri Jets drove the decisions that they made at the auction successfully as they picked up a replacement wicketkeeper in the form of Abhishek Pawar because the number of matches has almost doubled this season. The team needed another fast bowler, Piyush Kamal and the most exciting new signee came in the form of Satyajeet Bachhav, undoubtedly one of the best left-arm spinner in the state.
The bowlers of Ratnagiri Jets have been stand-out performers with Kunal Thorat bagging 2 wickets each vs the Solapur Royals and the Puneri Bappa, Divyang Hinganekar getting a scalp and scoring a crucial 46 off 15 balls to win against Chhatrapati Sambhaji Kings, Captain Azim Kazi cleaned out 3 wickets vs the Eagle Nashik Titans and Vijay Pawale who took home the man of the match award for his two wickets versus the Kolhapur Tuskers. The second edition of the MPL will begin on the 2nd of June 2024. The Ratnagiri Jets aim to repeat their performance by solely focusing on the processes responsible for winning them the cup the first time around. The team has started training together and will continue to build on the plans that have been laid out by the coaching staff.
Here’s what the final squad for the Ratnagiri Jets looks like:
Abhishek Pawar (WK), Akhilesh Gawale, Azim Kazi (C), Dhiraj Phatangare, Divyang Hinganekar, Kiran Chormale, Krish Shahapurkar, Kunal Thorat, Nikhil Naik (WK), Nikit Dhumal, Piyush Kamal, Pradeep Dadhe, Preetam Patil, Rohit Patil, Sahil Churi, Sangram Bhalekar, Satyajeet Bacchav, Tushar Shrivastav, Vaibhav Chowghule, Vijay Pawale, Yash Borkar, Yogesh Chavan
