We will be stronger next season, says J&K skipper Parvez Rasool

Vadodara: Their fairytale run in the Ranji Trophy came to an end with a crushing quarterfinal loss today but Jammu and Kashmir captain Parveez Rasool said his team is not the least bit disheartened and will emerge stronger next season.

J&K lost by a 100 runs against Punjab in the last-eight stage match here today but Rasool chose to focus on the positives. "We are not disappointed and will work hard to improve our performance during Ranji Trophy next season," the off-spinning all-rounder said after the match. Reflecting on the loss, Rasool said the team needed some good partnerships while chasing 324. "We needed some partnerships today, but VRV Singh bowled well today and unfortunately, we couldn`t put up a stand," Rasool said. "Once our set batsmen, Hardeep Singh, got injured, we didn`t play well against VRV. One batsman should have stood with paaji. A 300-plus target is not easy to chase, but we fought well," he added. Meanwhile, Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh praised VRV and said his team was positive about the semifinal against Karnataka starting January 18 in Mohali. "VRV is a match-winner for us. The way he bowled against Haryana and here, he proved how useful he is for Punjab. I hope to see him get back in the India team one day," he said. "We know our conditions better than Karnataka, but they are a strong team and have been the team to beat. Still, we will need to play our best cricket against them. We will try not to repeat the mistakes we made against them in the league stage and will have our plans ready," he added. Harbhajan also expressed happiness at being retained by his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians but said he would miss the team`s icon player Sachin Tendulkar, who retired last year. "I hope Tendulkar will come to the ground to witness the matches and inspire us," he said.