Mumbai: Coming down closely on the tendency of sure India gamers whom he feels are extra to play within the IPL lately than for Mumbai, former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar on Wednesday requested Mumbai chief selector Sanjay Patil to select solely these gamers who take satisfaction in taking part in for Mumbai.“Final season, our top-order batters weren’t doing nicely. (Decrease-order batters) Shardul Thakur and Tanush Kotian have been rescuing us in nearly all of the video games. I feel there have been a few Check gamers who weren’t all for taking part in (for Mumbai). I advised Sanjay (Patil, Mumbai chief selector): ‘Ask those that aren’t to play for Mumbai to go house. Take guys who take satisfaction in efficiency, in profitable matches and take satisfaction in representing Mumbai.‘ Those that usually are not , those that really feel that ‘I can most likely play within the IPL’ Please do not play for Mumbai,” Vengsarkar thundered, whereas chatting with all of the Mumbai groups on the official launch of the Mumbai Cricket Affiliation’s Cricketing Season 2025-26, on the MCA Sharad Pawar Indoor Cricket Academy and Recreation Centre, BKC.Present on the occasion were former India women’s team captain Diana Edulji (MCA’s women’s cricket advisor), ex-India pacer Raju Kulkarni (Cricket Improvement Committee chairman), MCA president Ajinkya Naik, all the Mumbai teams’ coaches and selectors, and Apex Council members.The 116-Test veteran, who is currently the MCA’s cricket advisor, also slammed another trend that he has noticed-that of batters going for big shots deliberately in Under-19 & Under-23 BCCI tournaments to impress IPL talent scouts. “I’ve seen that some of the Under-23 & Under-19 players, when they see IPL talent scouts at their matches, they try to play big shots and get out. That shouldn’t happen. It’s important that the player plays as per the requirements of the Mumbai team and as per the format of the game,” Vengsarkar pointed out.
Vengsarkar urged the youngsters to avoid social media while playing matches and “take pride” in playing for Mumbai rather than only bothering about the IPL. “Everybody thinks that the IPL is the only thing, the right platform to show your talent. See, the important thing is that you are playing for Mumbai. You are expected to do well for Mumbai. Take pride in winning matches for Mumbai. It’s very, very important. Keep social media, messages, phones aside for a while (during matches). Stay focused. Be passionate about your own performance and how you can win matches because when I was the selector, I used to see who would win the match from a difficult position. If we were, for example, 80 for five, and you need 300 runs. Who will win the match for me from there? This is precisely why I picked Virat Kohli when I was the India chief selector,” he said.
Poll
Should players prioritize representing Mumbai over playing in the IPL?
“You must look to win the semifinals and finals, the big games. You are all outstanding cricketers who have a bright future. You must stay focused and passionate about the game,” Vengsarkar concluded in his speech.Meanwhile, MCA president Ajinkya Naik advised Mumbai’s young cricketers to be more loyal to their clubs. “Unfortunately, there’s no concept of club loyalty anymore, unlike the earlier times. Players think that they can play for Mumbai only if they represent clubs that belong to the top administrators or selectors in local cricket. However, you can’t play for Mumbai for a long time with that approach. You can only play for Mumbai on the basis of your performance. That’s the sole criteria. There’s no concept of friendship or favours here. You all have been picked for the various teams of Mumbai based on your performance. Loyalty is important. You should take pride in playing for your club and Mumbai and representing the MCA,” Naik asserted.