Mumbai captain Siddhesh Lad on Thursday said he respects the decision of the selectors to exclude Suryakumar Yadav from their Ranji Trophy season opener against Chandigarh, while adding that players who have prepared well will always be a part of the conversation. Suryakumar made himself available closer to the selection meeting, but the Rajesh Pawar -led panel did not pick the former India T20I skipper on the grounds of a lack of red-ball practice. The 36-year-old Suryakumar had skipped training with the Mumbai team in the lead-up to the Ranji Trophy season and had not even answered the selectors’ call about 10 days before selection.
“Surya has been a fantastic player for Mumbai cricket. He has done a lot for Mumbai cricket over the years and also for the Indian team. He is a World Cup-winning captain. “But whatever decisions are taken by the management and the selectors, whatever they feel is right at this moment, as a captain, I want to respect them. “So, stay calm on the field and take decisions in a calm frame of mind; it will be helpful for you. “A player like Shardul gives us the right balance in the team. We are going to miss Shardul in the first game for sure.
It helped me in the U-19 World Cup as well, so I just try to stay calm on the field,” Mhatre said. Lad said Mumbai’s rich history of winning the Ranji Trophy 42 times would put pressure on his side, but they have worked hard to handle all challenges.
In our group, there is tremendous respect for Surya,” Lad told the media during Mumbai’s pre-season press conference. But we are also trying to see how quickly he can recover and get back to playing,” he said.
