Blaming the international stars’ lack of interest for Mumbai’s inability to defend the Ranji Trophy title, Mumbai chief selector Sanjay Patil has requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and national selection panel to personally monitor international cricketers’ performance when they are forced to turn up in domestic cricket.
“First I congratulate Ajit Agarkar (chief national selector), Jay Shah (former BCCI secretary) and all the BCCI authorities who forced all the big cricketers to represent their own State teams. Every cricketer owes most of his achievements to his own State,” Patil told The Hindu after Mumbai’s semifinal exit in the Ranji Trophy.
“But whenever all the internationals were made to play domestic cricket, they merely participated in these games instead of being involved in the game. The legacy of Mumbai cricket — especially when it comes to international stars’ involvement in Mumbai cricket — was not seen and it needs to be fixed.
“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. 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.”
In the aftermath of India’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy debacle, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal played the penultimate league round of the Ranji Trophy against Jammu & Kashmir, a match that Mumbai lost. Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube — the T20I stars — featured in the quarterfinal win against Haryana and the loss to Vidarbha in the semifinal. Jaiswal conspicuously returned home on the eve of the semifinal.
Patil left no stone unturned in expressing his displeasure with the international stars who turned up in Mumbai’s whites over the last month.
“Very upset with the way they played (in the Ranji Trophy). It was something that’s not expected from Test players and the so-called India cricketers. The kind of dedication we experienced from our seniors was never on display from the current lot. If you are joining the team and are happy only to be signing autographs, it speaks volumes about you,” Patil said.
“That was the biggest difference between Vidarbha and Mumbai in the semifinals. The greed and grit to win was never seen in the semifinal, or throughout since the second half of the Ranji Trophy. Totally upset with all the big players, including Suryakumar Yadav.”
Published – February 24, 2025 05:43 pm IST