The last two rounds of the Ranji Trophy featured several Indian cricket A-listers such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Ravindra Jadeja in the premier domestic cricket event after a long period. The decision by top cricketers to play Ranji Trophy came after the BCCI’s mandate of making domestic cricket compulsory for all players. Except Ravindra Jadeja, none of the players could make a great deal of impact in the Ranji Trophy matches.
Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20 captain, and allrounder Shivam Dube will bolster Mumbai’s bid for glory against Haryana in the quarter-final match, which will be played at Chaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium, Lahli, from February 8.
On the eve of the match, Mumbai chief selector Sanjay Patil delivered a clear message to Yadav and Dube. Suryakumar had played for the Mumbai side in their clash against Maharashtra back in October, while Dube had been a member of the hosts, which boasted Indian Test and ODI skipper Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal, in their home defeat to J&K last month.
“I have told him clearly, considering the defeat at the hand of J&K despite six India players in the line-up, was never an easy one for me to endure. I wanted both SKY and Dube to not only play this Ranji knockout match but to also contribute towards our victory when the chips are down,” Patil told TOI.
The most frustrating part remains that loss against J&K, which I view as the worst in our history. A handful of players of immense ability (like opener Ayush Mhatre) had to be left out to accommodate the India players for that match, and Mumbai the players for whom the team is to win a game. Indian players should realize that it was not just a point of being available for that match. The culture of Mumbai cricket has always been to put one’s 100% into representing Mumbai.
Mumbai squad: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Amogh Bhatkal, Suryakumar Yadav, Siddhesh Lad, Shivam Dube, Akash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Suryansh Shedge, Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Mohit Avasthi, Sylvester D’Souza, Royston Dias, Atharva Ankolekar, Harsh Tanna.