It has been a nightmare season for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. It lost to Railways and Karnataka and has six points from three games. Former India batsman Sandeep Patil, tells The Hindu that it’s time for the players to take responsibility. Excerpts…
What is wrong with Mumbai this season?
I am not involved with Mumbai cricket and so it’s difficult for me to pinpoint. You have to ask the CIC and the selection committee.
May be, it’s the effect of T20s. What I have heard is that they lack patience and cannot occupy the crease.
Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube did not play the last two games…
You mean to say, Sunil Gavaskar was available all the time? When Sunil was not available, Sudhir Naik led us to victory. Ashok Mankad led Mumbai to victory. You can’t give excuse that Ajinkya (Rahane) is not available or Shardul (Thakur) is not available… Mumbai has enormous bench strength, maybe, there’s something wrong with the selection, and the approach.
What should the players do for the remaining matches?
They should take responsibility. You can say that it’s a team game, but every individual should think that ‘I have to take responsibility and do my job’. Everybody is selected on the basis of certain numbers and are given a specific role. If you fail to do that, the result will be negative.
More responsibility should be taken by the players — not necessarily by the seniors, also by the juniors. When Dilip (Vengsarkar) and I started playing, we would look up to Mankad, Eknath Solkar, Gavaskar… We learnt from them. Mumbai losing two home matches is difficult to digest.
What’s the way forward?
There is a Mumbai spirit of fighting back. You can’t just say we had a bad game. You have to fight back. I want the Mumbai train to be back on track. Dhawal has been unfit for the last four-five years, same with Shardul. Other seamers are having the same problem. But knee-jerk reaction is not required. Just accept the fact, work on your problems.
