Rahane chooses vacation over Ranji Trophy
Top Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane left the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) selectors in a fix when he announced his unavailability for Mumbai's opening Ranji Trophy game against Madhya Pradesh starting 14th October. Rahane, who was part of the team for the ODI series against Australia, is currently on a vacation in Seychelles. He was not picked up for the ongoing T20 series against Aussies.
Rahane's decision leaves MCA selectors 'disappointed'
According to a source from the MCA, Rahane's decision to not be a part of the Ranji team has left the association disappointed and shocked. After MCA's chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed Rahane's unavailability, the source said, "Frankly, the selectors were surprised, rather shocked and disappointed about it. They didn't expect this from a dedicated player like him."
Mumbai misses top players
Top Mumbai cricketers Shreyas Iyer, Dhawal Kulkarni and Prithvi Shaw will also be unavailable for the Ranji match after they were selected for Board President's XI team for a match against the visiting New Zealand side. Shardul Thakur will miss the match owing to his commitments to the India 'A' team. In such scenario, MCA has appointed Aditya Tare as the Mumbai captain.
Yuvraj, Harbhajan too miss Ranji Trophy games
Punjab cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh too missed the opening game of Ranji Trophy, leaving the captaincy on Jiwanjot Singh. While Yuvraj and Harbhajan are both reported to join the team for the second and the third match, their absence from the first game costed them valuable points after Punjab's match against Himachal Pradesh ended in a draw.
Bishen Singh Bedi slams players missing Ranji Trophy
Former Indian cricket Bishen Singh Bedi has expressed his displeasure over senior players missing out Ranji games. He said, "Players missing first-class cricket is a bad omen for Indian cricket. When your international players start bunking domestic cricket is a bad omen for the future."
