Just two days after suffering a heartbreaking defeat against Canada, national cricket coach Niraj Odedra is flying home to India with an emptiness inside.

Odedra has devoted all his time in the past six months towards attempting to guide Bermuda to the T20 World Cup and admits that falling short in the final qualification game has been tough to take.

“The feeling in the last three days is like someone has taken away something that I love,” Odedra said.

“I can’t quite describe it but inside the feeling is not good. I was in India and I was winning everything and then I came here and we were winning everything in the ICC tournament, but then after the last game you go so low and it’s hard.

“I was just reading an article by Mike Brearley [former England captain] and he said that if you keep thinking about your results it sometimes gives you mental issues and that you have to be very careful, so I will look to move on.”

It was a tough decision for Odedra to leave his homeland, where he has carved out a successful trophy-laden career as coach of Saurashtra, but his time here has been noticeable for an improved morale and commitment among Bermuda’s players, which he is quick to nominate as his proudest achievement.

“People can say whatever they want about these players but I know how much Bermudian players have given with their lives, with their families, with their work and their relationships,” Odedra said.

“I know how much time they have given to cricket in the last six months and it is unbelievable and unheard of here. I have been talking to former cricketers and they all said that this was the best-prepared national team for a long time.

“My heart is with them and I feel for them. They committed to every training session and it was disheartening after that last game to see people I respect crying on the ground, and the emotions were difficult to control.

“This was their dream. We had a motto of ‘One team, one dream’ and we were so confident and so into it and we gave everything, but they want to regroup and next time we will try to finish first.”

Odedra now has a big call to make, with an extended long-term deal on the table from the Bermuda Cricket Board competing with his club in India, who are keen to renew his service, but unfinished business on island may prove the deciding factor in any decision.

.“Yesterday I had a big meeting with the board and they wanted to move away from a short stint of six months and offered me a three-year deal,” Odedra said.

“They will present the contract to me in about a week, but they need to move quick as if I sign something in India I will not back out.

“I will go home, sit down with my family and present to them the contract. I will also talk to Saurashtra, but it’s a positive thing. I don’t have to sell myself as it’s clear we have started something good, so let’s continue and if I can be any help I would be more than happy to do it.”

Odedra has given plenty of thought to the future and believes he has the blueprint to take Bermuda cricket forward.

“If you look at the senior team, most of them with one or two exceptions have three or four years cricket left in them at least,” Odedra said.

“I am more than happy to work with the same team and the same guys for the next two years, but the problem at the moment is there is nothing that will feed you players.

“We have to create new structures from scratch. The academy at the moment comes under youth and development but I am pushing to move it into high performance.

“When that happens the age span for the academy becomes 15 to 23 and I don’t want any coaches older than 60 to be coaching an academy player.

“We need younger coaches who are fit and dynamic. Janeiro Tucker, for example, was with the under-19 squad at their recent tournament and he could be involved.”

Long-term planning is key to Odedra’s plan and he is urging government and huge international companies on island to help Bermuda take the crucial next step.

“Don’t wait for us to get to the World Cup and then help, help us get to the World Cup,” Odedra said.

“I would urge all sponsors and some of the huge companies in Bermuda to back us long term and not just for six months. Success will come when somebody supports us and we get the help. We need to start preparing for 2026 now. If we start preparing now, then we will go very close to qualifying.

“There is a craze about cricket at the moment here and we need to capitalise on that. Since we lost, every time I have been out in the town people have come up to me to say how well we did, how close we got and how happy they are with the way cricket is going, and that’s the biggest compliment I can get.

It’s fair to say Bermuda has made a huge impression on Odedra and it’s hard to shake the feeling that it will be a blow to the island’s cricketing future were he to walk away.

“When I came here for the first time what struck me was the amount of cricket played here and the many beautiful grounds for such a small place,” Odedra said.

“It was amazing how much knowledge people had when it comes to sports and if you try to do something in the right way they will support you with everything they have. They may criticise players but if they know they are working hard they will still back them with all they have.

“I don’t want to leave this island and think for the rest of my life I came close. I want to say I was there, we made it and we went to the World Cup.

“I don’t like quitting, I like winning. I don’t cry when we lose, but I will cry when we win and I will cry when we go to a World Cup.”