Mumbai appoint new captain for the ongoing Ranji Trophy campaign

In-form batsman Siddhesh Lad was on Monday named as the captain of Mumbai domestic team ahead of their crucial tie against Maharashtra in Ranji Trophy starting at Gahunje near Pune on December 6. The 26-year-old batsman replaced Dhawal Kulkarni who is not available for selection for the game because of an injury, said Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) sources.

The 15-member squad led by Lad was announced on the MCA’s website by the association’s chief executive officer, C S Naik. Mumbai supporters will hope that their team, which has won the Ranji Trophy a record number of times (41), now fires under a new captain in the ongoing season. Mumbai are lagging at No. 6 among nine teams in the Elite Group A without a single win in three matches. They have drawn two while lost to Gujarat by 9 wickets in their last game at home.

The 15-member squad has Jay Bista, Surya Kumar Yadav, Eknath Kerkar and all-rounder Shivam Dubey who had a fantastic game against Gujarat even though his team suffered a crushing defeat. Former Indian opener and domestic giant Wasim Jaffer’s nephew Armaan, who made a Ranji return after a long time, though failed in the Gujarat game but the selection panel headed by former India all-rounder Ajit Agarkar retained him, keeping a faith on his ability to deliver.

Lad elated for the new role

Lad was happy with the new role he got. “It’s an honour to captain Mumbai and it’s a challenge as a captain (in the current situation) and I accept it. It’s a very big responsibility to captain Mumbai,” News18 quoted the cricketer who averages over 43 in first-class cricket as saying.

Mumbai next play Baroda and Saurashtra at home while they have an away game against Vidarbha later this month.

Mumbai squad: Siddesh Lad (C), Aditya Tare, Jay Bista, Shivam Dubey, Eknath Kerkar, Akash Parkar, Surya Kumar Yadav, Armaan Jaffer, Dhurmil Matkar, Shubham Ranjane, Karsh Kothari, Bhupen Lalwani, Royston Dias, Shivam Malhorta and Minad Manjrekar.

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