Mumbai’s defeat at the hands of Railways at their home ground, Wankhede Stadium, has led to a big controversy in MCA as an official has questioned Shivam Dube’s and Shreyas Iyer’s absence from the squad for the home fixture. Both Dube and Iyer were a part of the squad for the limited-overs series against West Indies which ended on December 22. The third round of the Ranji Trophy started on December 25.
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“It’s an unfortunate episode for Mumbai cricket. They told us that they had been ‘advised rest’ by the BCCI. However, when we checked with the selectors, we were told that there was no such instruction sent out to them from the selectors, at least. So, who asked them to rest? The physio of the Indian or the trainer? Or did they choose to rest themselves and fired from the Board’s shoulder? This is something that no one in the MCA, including the selectors, has appreciated. This issue will surely be discussed in the next Apex Council meeting of the association. We may take some sort of action soon,” an MCA official told TOI.
Since the Sri Lanka T20I series starts on January 5, both the players could have played the home fixture. It isn’t known whether the Indian team team management asked the duo to take rest.
Mumbai suffered a big 10-wicket defeat against Railways. Opting to bowl first, Railways made most out of the conditions and dismissed the home team for 114. Riding on the century from captain Karn Sharma, the visitors scored 266, taking a lead of 152 runs.
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Mumbai followed up with another disappointing batting display and were dismissed for 198 in their second innings. Chasing a target of 47, Railways bagged a bonus point as they did not lose a wicket.
Both Iyer and Dube will not be available for Mumbai’s next fixture against Karnataka due to international commitments.
DDCA could question Navdeep Saini for missing Ranji Trophy match
Like Mumbai, Delhi might also question their player – Navdeep Saini – for his absence. Multiple reports have suggested that the right-arm pacer might be asked to explain his absence from the Ranji Trophy fixture against Hyderabad.
Saini played the two Ranji Trophy fixtures before joining the national squad for the third ODI against West Indies. He could have played the home fixture but missed it. Saini is a part of the home series against Sri Lanka and Australia and is confirmed to miss the next match against Punjab.