'I got a call about replacing Rohit Sharma at 11:30 PM' - Siddhesh Lad recalls his IPL debut in 2019

Siddhesh Lad is known as the ‘crisis man’ of his Mumbai team in Ranji Trophy for the way he has bailed the team out of trouble so many times. But when it comes to playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for his home franchise, it took him five long years to make his debut. Mumbai Indians (MI) had picked Lad in the team before the 2015 season and he could only play his first match last year against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).

And the talented Mumbai batsman made it a memorable day for him. Though he scored only 15 runs off 13 deliveries Siddhesh Lad’s stay in the middle was eventful. He slammed his first ever IPL ball for a huge six off Ankit Rajpoot and then followed it with a scintillating four. However, he couldn’t go on to notch up a big score and was castled by Mohammed Shami.

Recalling the moment when he came to know about his IPL debut, the 27-year-old, in an Instagram live session with CricTracker, stated that he was at home with his family. He got a call in the night that he is playing and replacing the skipper Rohit Sharma. The Mumbai Indians (MI) captain had injured his finger during a training session and was rested for the game only as a precautionary measure with the World Cup to be played soon after the IPL.

Mahela had told me to go home and chill, says Siddhesh Lad

“Mahela had told me to go home and chill as I wasn’t going to play. And suddenly I got a call at 11.30 PM that I am playing the next day. That was a goosbumps moment for me. I could hardly sleep after that,” Siddhesh Lad said. However, this also turned out to be the last match for him for the four-time champions as MI released traded Lad with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the IPL 2020 auction.

The cricketer also lamented the fact that the cash-rich league has been suspended until further notice due to the Coronavirus outbreak. He felt that he had a great opportunity to play this year with the new team and also hoped that some window opens up for the IPL to go ahead later in the year.