Defeat in last season’s quarterfinal spurred the team: J & K coach Ajay Sharma

Life got here full circle for Paras Dogra on Saturday.

It was at this very floor in 2013 that he made his debut for India-A – in a star-studded group that additionally had Gautam Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan – in opposition to West Indies-A.

Little would he have imagined that he would elevate his maiden Ranji Trophy title on the identical venue, within the second season as captain of his adopted house Jammu & Kashmir, within the third decade of his home profession.

“I nonetheless keep in mind… yeah… however by no means thought we’re going to be champions on this floor,” Dogra mentioned. “I simply can’t, can’t, can’t clarify to be trustworthy. It has been a really lengthy journey.

“However I received hope final 12 months after we reached the quarterfinal. So I’ve all the time been pushing each participant and myself. And it labored.”

The 41-year-old admitted that a couple of years again he had practically give up enjoying cricket.

“Performances weren’t there and I used to be pondering of giving up. However my household pushed me. My buddies pushed me. Then Mithun [Manhas] bhai referred to as. And every part simply occurred.”

Coach Ajay Sharma, with whom Dogra joined palms earlier than the 2024-25 marketing campaign, mentioned that the painful exit from final season’s Ranji Trophy after conceding a one-run first-innings result in Kerala within the quarters spurred the group on.

“We thought that consequence will hang-out us for a very long time,” Ajay said. “So we labored on it. Final 12 months, we didn’t cross the hurdles. This time, we reached the semifinals for the primary time, after which created historical past. You possibly can’t take us evenly now. We’re a drive to reckon with.”