Ranji Trophy: Siddhesh Lad to lead Mumbai vs Maharashtra

Siddhesh Lad

With domestic giants Mumbai languishing at 14th position in the Elite Group A and B standings of 18 teams, the senior selection panel headed by Ajit Agarkar decided to hand crisis man Siddhesh Lad the responsibility of captaining the 41-time Ranji Trophy champions in their next encounter against Maharashtra in Pune from Thursday.

Lad was put in the hot seat after skipper Dhawal Kulkarni injured his ankle in the last match against Gujarat which the hosts lost by nine wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Mumbai will be without their two main pacers after Tushar Deshpande failed to recover from the hamstring injury he sustained during the Gujarat match. "It's a big moment for him [Lad]. Hopefully, he takes the pressure well. He has got the experience. He is one of our better performers over the last few years," Agarkar told mid-day yesterday.

The heavy defeat against Gujarat prompted the selectors to drop opener Akhil Herwadkar, who scored 101 runs in three Ranji matches. Mumbai under-23 opener Bhupen Lalwani, who smashed two consecutive centuries in the CK Nayudu Trophy, replaced the southpaw. Shivam Malhotra has been included in place of Kulkarni while U-23 pacer Minad Manjrekar replaced Deshpande.

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