On December 29, a 20-member squad for the first two Ranji Trophy fixtures against Maharashtra and Delhi was announced by the senior selection committee of the Mumbai Cricket Association. Among many, Sachin Tendulkar‘s son Arjun Tendulkar was also named in Mumbai’s squad for their first two Ranji Trophy fixtures.
Arjun Tendulkar, who has played two T20Is for the senior Mumbai team, is yet to play his first game in the Ranji Trophy. Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) chief selector and former India fast bowler Salil Ankola explained the reasons for selecting the young seam-bowling all-rounder in the senior Mumbai squad.
As per Ankola, Arjun Tendulkar has “been bowling well” after recovering from an unfortunate injury. He also claimed that the team has been selected considering the “future of Mumbai cricket”. Talking to the Indian Express, Ankola said:
“Arjun (Tendulkar) has been bowling well, unfortunately, he was injured in between but he did well in whatever games he played thereafter. We have picked a team looking at the future of Mumbai cricket,”
While Arjun has been selected for the upcoming matches, the team would be missing key players like Tushar Deshpande, who has been ruled out due to an injury, and Suryakumar Yadav, who is likely to find a place in India’s ODI squad for the South Africa tour next month. Talking about the same, Salil Ankola said:
“Unfortunately Tushar Deshpande, our seamer, is injured but it’s a promising team. It’s a mixed team where we have picked players from under-19 and also who have been part of the Mumbai team for a few years.”
Further, the former fast bowler expressed confidence in the young players, who have been given the opportunity to represent the junior circuit. He said:
“There are a few young players like Prince Badiani, who did well in under 19 for us. We wanted to promote them and see how they do on the big stage. What we have seen is the players coming from under 19 have performed for the senior men team too. We are hopeful that the team will do well going ahead,”
Meanwhile, Mumbai’s campaign will kickstart against Maharashtra on January 13 and both their matches are in Kolkata as this time the tournament in being played in neutral venues.
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