Mumbai chief selector Sanjay Patil criticized the team’s international players for their failure to defend the Ranji Trophy title. The 42-time champions were defeated by Vidarbha by 80 runs in last week’s semifinal in Nagpur.
Led by Ajinkya Rahane, the team featured international stars like Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Iyer, and Shardul Thakur. Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal also played one match. However, except for Thakur, none of them made a significant impact to help Mumbai reach the final.
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Senior cricketers played domestic matches as mandated by the BCCI during international breaks, following India’s Test series losses to New Zealand and Australia. The move aims to improve domestic cricket standards and keep players match-fit.
However, following Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy exit, Patil urged the BCCI to closely monitor the performances of international players in domestic tournaments. He believes the star players lacked the hunger to win the title for their state.
Here’s what Patil stated (via Sportstar):
“I have a request for the association to make sure the international stars are made aware of it. Otherwise, it becomes unfair on the team and the rising stars. Our association has always stood by us but had no option due to the BCCI diktat.”
“I have a request for Ajit, his committee and the BCCI that whenever you ask the international stars to turn up for their state teams, their performances should be closely monitored.”
“They were asked to play and they did, mostly for the sake of it. All of them should have been monitored by the Indian national selection committee. If you see, all of them only participated, didn’t really perform. And it reflects in their team’s performance,” he added.
Mumbai’s International players performance in Ranji Trophy 2024-25 Semifinal
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane struggled in the semifinal against Vidarbha, managing only 18 and 12, failing to anchor the batting lineup. India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav’s poor form persisted with scores of 0 and 23, while Shivam Dube also disappointed, scoring just 0 and 12.
All-rounder Shardul Thakur bowled 33 overs, conceding 133 runs for two wickets. However, he impressed with the bat, scoring 37 and 66, carrying the burden after the key batters faltered.
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