Mumbai…Time To Upgrade With 42nd Ranji Trophy Triumph

Mumbai’s (Mumbai Cricket Association) growth in Indian cricket has been colossal. On Thursday (Mar 14), the players sporting the Lion crest obliterated the 41-time winner tag with the 42nd Ranji Trophy triumph against a valiant Vidarbha at a venue that’s a stone’s throw from the Arabian Sea. Mumbai has been fabulously relevant to the development of Indian cricket across formats. As of now Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur and Shreyas Iyer are part of the Indian teams in all formats or either Test, ODIs or Twenty20 internationals. Tushar Deshpande and Shams Mulani have been part of India ‘A’ teams and Musheer Khan has emerged as an India under -19 star.  Not long ago Ajinkya Rahane was a fixture in the Indian team, its captain too. Then there is Prithvi Shaw, a “wasted talent” who can rise again. Without a doubt, the Mumbai Cricket Association which matched the BCCI’s prize money of Rs 5 crore that came with the Ranji Trophy triumph, has been doing the right things for its teams -juniors, men and women. Now, Mr Amol Kale and Mr Ajinkya Naik, how about founding a multi-day professional league for the top clubs during the season; or pick 4/5/6 from a big-basket talent pool?  The league will help groom/develop talent in many ways with the ultimate objective of being the feeder league for the Ranji Trophy team. Mull over, Mumbai Cricket Association! What are you waiting for?