It’s all smooth sailing from here on out, crooned Josh Homme. Or so Mumbai thought after amassing 32 points from seven Ranji Trophy Group B engagements to top the points chart and become the only team to book a quarterfinal berth. Alas, the spectre of ‘chucking’ now hangs over the 40-time champion as it sets out to host a star-studded Gujarat outfit in the final round starting on Tuesday.
Yes, the encounter, to be played at the Wankhede, holds only academic significance for Mumbai which has registered four ‘outright’ wins to open up a nine-point lead over second-placed Gujarat (23 points from seven matches). However, the entry of left-arm spinner Vishal Dabholkar and off-spinner Ankush Jaiswal into that notorious list of bowlers with suspect actions has taken some of the sheen off the team’s heroic showings, including last week’s record-breaking 280-run chase against Madhya Pradesh in Indore.
Dabholkar, Jaiswal ruled out
If Dabholkar’s 27 wickets enabled him to occupy the top spot in the list of wicket-takers for Mumbai in this campaign, then Jaiswal gave a good account of himself with a match haul of five for 93 on debut. The duo will obviously sit out of the Gujarat game, but the question that hangs over the team management like a sword of Damocles is how did this happen.
According to Mumbai coach Chandrakant Pandit, both Dabholkar and Jaiswal were found to have broken the much-maligned 15-degree rule only in the last match. Which brings us to the question: what were the umpires/match referee/video analysts doing earlier in the season? More pertinently, how did the Mumbai team management fail to prevent it?
For starters, a couple of Dabholkar deliveries were deemed fishy even last year. That he received an all-clear from the powers that be in the BCCI is a different issue altogether.
Jaiswal’s case is also intriguing. He has played just one Ranji game alright, but what about the long and arduous journey he undertook to break into the senior team? He must have bent that bowling arm beyond the permissible limit in age-group cricket too.
Pandit strived hard to put out the fire by offering an all-is-well explanation. “They (Dabholkar and Jaiswal) have already been to the BCCI’s (correctional) facility in Chennai. We are awaiting the report… In a way, it’s good that there is a two-month gap between the league stage and the knockouts. We have enough time to rectify the problems,” the 54-year-old former India wicketkeeper said.
One man’s loss is another man’s gain, and that means 20-year-old left-arm spinner Dhrumil Matkar looks set to make his debut. His performance — none for 77 & eight for 83 — in the seven-wicket win against Bengal in early November caught the eye of chief selector Milind Rege.
Array of internationals
The Gujarat camp comprises an array of internationals like skipper Parthiv Patel, Axar Patel, RP Singh and Ramesh Powar, the latter gearing up for an emotional clash against the team he served with aplomb for 14 seasons before moving to Rajasthan in 2014. Powar has announced that he will retire at the end of the season.
Gujarat must secure at least three points to book a place in the knockouts. Mumbai is keen on “maintaining the tempo”, and that means we are likely to see some purposeful cricket on what looks to be a “sporting wicket” replete with a tinge of grass.
Mumbai will have to watch out primarily for opener Priyank Panchal, who has already scored 629 runs at an average of 57 this season. Then there’s Parthiv (448 runs at 50), Bhargav Merai (396 at 47) and Manpreet Juneja (295 runs at 49). Raijul Bhatt (20 wickets at 22), Jasprit Bumrah (19 at 22), RP Singh (15 at 23), Rush Kalaria (15 at 24) and Axar (15 at 25) have also impressed at some point or the other.
The teams (from): Aditya Tare (capt. & wk), Akhil Herwadkar, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Siddhesh Lad, Nikhil Patil Jr., Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Jay Bista, Balwinder Singh Sandhu Jr., Badre Alam, Abhishek Raut, Iqbal Abdullah, Dhrumil Matkar, Sufiyan Shaikh (wk).
Gujarat: Parthiv Patel (capt. & wk), Bhargav Merai, Priyank Panchal, Raijul Bhatt, RP Singh, Manpreet Juneja, Mehul B. Patel, Raxlee Taylor, Chirag Gandhi, Rush Kalaria, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Ramesh Powar, Hardik Patel, Alsazz Khan Patel.
Yes, the encounter, to be played at the Wankhede, holds only academic significance for Mumbai which has registered four ‘outright’ wins to open up a nine-point lead over second-placed Gujarat (23 points from seven matches). However, the entry of left-arm spinner Vishal Dabholkar and off-spinner Ankush Jaiswal into that notorious list of bowlers with suspect actions has taken some of the sheen off the team’s heroic showings, including last week’s record-breaking 280-run chase against Madhya Pradesh in Indore.
Dabholkar, Jaiswal ruled out
If Dabholkar’s 27 wickets enabled him to occupy the top spot in the list of wicket-takers for Mumbai in this campaign, then Jaiswal gave a good account of himself with a match haul of five for 93 on debut. The duo will obviously sit out of the Gujarat game, but the question that hangs over the team management like a sword of Damocles is how did this happen.
According to Mumbai coach Chandrakant Pandit, both Dabholkar and Jaiswal were found to have broken the much-maligned 15-degree rule only in the last match. Which brings us to the question: what were the umpires/match referee/video analysts doing earlier in the season? More pertinently, how did the Mumbai team management fail to prevent it?
For starters, a couple of Dabholkar deliveries were deemed fishy even last year. That he received an all-clear from the powers that be in the BCCI is a different issue altogether.
Jaiswal’s case is also intriguing. He has played just one Ranji game alright, but what about the long and arduous journey he undertook to break into the senior team? He must have bent that bowling arm beyond the permissible limit in age-group cricket too.
Pandit strived hard to put out the fire by offering an all-is-well explanation. “They (Dabholkar and Jaiswal) have already been to the BCCI’s (correctional) facility in Chennai. We are awaiting the report… In a way, it’s good that there is a two-month gap between the league stage and the knockouts. We have enough time to rectify the problems,” the 54-year-old former India wicketkeeper said.
One man’s loss is another man’s gain, and that means 20-year-old left-arm spinner Dhrumil Matkar looks set to make his debut. His performance — none for 77 & eight for 83 — in the seven-wicket win against Bengal in early November caught the eye of chief selector Milind Rege.
Array of internationals
The Gujarat camp comprises an array of internationals like skipper Parthiv Patel, Axar Patel, RP Singh and Ramesh Powar, the latter gearing up for an emotional clash against the team he served with aplomb for 14 seasons before moving to Rajasthan in 2014. Powar has announced that he will retire at the end of the season.
Gujarat must secure at least three points to book a place in the knockouts. Mumbai is keen on “maintaining the tempo”, and that means we are likely to see some purposeful cricket on what looks to be a “sporting wicket” replete with a tinge of grass.
Mumbai will have to watch out primarily for opener Priyank Panchal, who has already scored 629 runs at an average of 57 this season. Then there’s Parthiv (448 runs at 50), Bhargav Merai (396 at 47) and Manpreet Juneja (295 runs at 49). Raijul Bhatt (20 wickets at 22), Jasprit Bumrah (19 at 22), RP Singh (15 at 23), Rush Kalaria (15 at 24) and Axar (15 at 25) have also impressed at some point or the other.
The teams (from): Aditya Tare (capt. & wk), Akhil Herwadkar, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Siddhesh Lad, Nikhil Patil Jr., Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Jay Bista, Balwinder Singh Sandhu Jr., Badre Alam, Abhishek Raut, Iqbal Abdullah, Dhrumil Matkar, Sufiyan Shaikh (wk).
Gujarat: Parthiv Patel (capt. & wk), Bhargav Merai, Priyank Panchal, Raijul Bhatt, RP Singh, Manpreet Juneja, Mehul B. Patel, Raxlee Taylor, Chirag Gandhi, Rush Kalaria, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Ramesh Powar, Hardik Patel, Alsazz Khan Patel.
