No Surya in Mumbai Ranji squad despite confirming availability; Jaiswal picked
The Mumbai selectors have not picked former India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav for their Ranji Trophy season opener despite the veteran confirming his availability for the same a week ago.
The selection committee of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) announced a 16-member squad on Monday. Both Suryakumar, under whose captaincy India had successfully defended their T20 World Cup crown earlier this year, and Yashasvi Jaiswal had informed the panel that they were available. But only the latter finds his name in the list.
Chief selector Rajesh Pawar said Suryakumar’s lack of recent red-ball match practice was behind their decision.
“He is a very big player. But he hasn’t played red-ball cricket in the last one and a half years. Should he play a few red-ball games, he can definitely come into the side,” Pawar said.
It was just last week that Suryakumar was asked about his availability and willingness to play Ranji Trophy, and he took a day before confirming it. However, MCA officials claim they tried to reach out to him many times but he didn’t respond to their calls.
Mumbai will take on Chandigarh in their season opener at the Wankhede Stadium from October 11-14. The selection committee has appointed Siddhesh Lad as skipper for the season with opener Ayush Mhatre as his vice-captain.
Speaking on Jaiswal’s return, Pawar said, “It’s a good thing that Yashasvi is coming to play for Mumbai. He also needs match practice. When asked, he said he is available, so that’s good for the team. There is a chance he might be in either the senior or the A team touring New Zealand; so we only announced the squad for the first match.”
The squad features India batter Sarfaraz Khan, who recently played for the Rest of India side that beat Jammu and Kashmir in the Irani Cup. Also included is Shams Mulani, whose all-round performance against Australia A helped India A clinch their two-match unofficial Test series 1-0.
Mhatre, who led India to the Under-19 World Cup title earlier this year, has been rewarded for his impressive leadership with the vice-captaincy. Mumbai will miss the services of pacer Shardul Thakur, who got injured a few weeks ago.
Mumbai squad: Siddhesh Lad (capt), Ayush Mhatre (vice-capt), Shams Mulani, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tanush Kotian, Atharva Ankolekar, Divyaansh Saxena, Tushar Deshpande, Musheer Khan, Mohit Avasthi, Sarfaraz Khan, Sylvester D’Souza, Suved Parkar, Onkar Tarmale, Aakash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk).
Having spent years covering Mumbai’s local "maidan" cricket circuit, Devendra Pandey brings a unique ground-level perspective to his reporting. ... Read More
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