Dhawal Kulkarni will lead Mumbai for the next two games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy

Dhawal Kulkarni has been named as the stand-in captain of the Mumbai team for their next two matches in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. The experienced fast bowler will be donning the skipper’s hat for the first time as the team will be missing the services of the first-three regulars in the side due to prior commitments.

Having won three out of their four encounters so far in the tournament, while one game was a washout, Mumbai look a settled line-up after comprehensive wins against Baroda, Karnataka, and Railways. However, in the upcoming two games against Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, they will miss three of their in-form batsmen in Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer.

Iyer, Shaw to feature for BP XI

Rahane, who is set to feature in the first Test against Windies, beginning October 4 at Rajkot, has been asked to report for national duties by September 30, whereas Iyer and Shaw will take part in a two-day game representing the Board President’s XI against the touring Windies team in Baroda on September 28-29.

Vinayak Samant, the Mumbai coach is confident and expects the team to rise to the occasion. He showed belief in their new skipper and his ability to lead the side. “Dhawal has been bowling really well. He’s a focused and disciplined player. He’s a senior, experienced player,” he was quoted as saying by TOI.

He is hopeful that two former captains in the team wicketkeeper Aditya Tare and Suryakumar Yadav will assist the fast bowler in handling the responsibility. “I expect Aditya Tare and Suryakumar Yadav (both former captains) to help him out. We’re playing well as a unit,” Samant said.

He reckons that this is a real challenge for the team with some of their key players slated to miss the next two games. “For us, the real competition starts now. We’ll miss three of our top players, and we play some tough teams from here,” he added.

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