MUMBAI: Selectors are rarely given credit for success, but are often the first target of the critics when a team plays badly.
From that perspective, somewhere Mumbai's senior selection committee too deserves a pat on its back for the Mumbai team's 42nd Ranji Trophy triumph, which came when the domestic giants beat Vidarbha by 169 runs in the final at the Wankhede Stadium last month.
On Wednesday, speaking at the birthday celebrations of legends Vijay Hazare and Vinoo Mankad at the Cricket Club of India, Mumbai chief selector Raju Kulkarni revealed that there was massive pressure on his selection committee to drop the likes of skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who was struggling for form till the final, and even off-spinner Tanush Kotian at various stages during Mumbai's triumphant Ranji campaign.
Kotian took 29 wickets in 10 Ranji matches@16.96, besides scoring 502 runs @41.83, with one century and five half-centuries, and was eventually adjudged as the 'Player of the Tournament,' while Rahane finished with just 214 runs in 10 matches@17.83, with two fifties, while bouncing back into form with a crucial 73 in the second innings of the final.
"There was pressure on us to drop Kotian when we were picking the team for the second or third match because he wasn't bowling well. He had scored a couple of fifties but the common refrain was he's not here to score runs. However, we persisted with him. That was our motto, that he's a talented player, and we've to support him. And he vindicated our belief," said the former India pacer during a panel discussion, which also had former Mumbai captain and opener Shishir Hattangadi.
Kulkarni explained why his committee backed Rahane: "He missed our pre-season camp, but was very keen to play for Mumbai. Unfortunately, he wasn't performing well. He failed in the Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Hazare Trophy and then in the Ranji Trophy. So, there was a lot of pressure from some quarters on us to drop him. People were of the opinion that he is finished. However, we stuck to our guns. Even if he's not getting runs, he's a great captain who was keeping the team together. Eventually, Ajinkya got that confidence that 'whatever happens, even if I don't get the runs, the selectors are with me."
