Siddhesh Lad, stepping in as Mumbai’s captain, has voiced his concerns regarding the BCCI’s decision to schedule the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) quarter-final against Karnataka at 9 am in Bengaluru. Unfortunately, Mumbai faced defeat via the VJD method due to rain. After being put in to bat, Mumbai’s batting lineup struggled early on, finding themselves at 60-4. However, Shams Mulani’s impressive 86 helped the team finish with 254-8 in their allotted 50 overs.
Karnataka responded strongly, with opener Devdutt Padikkal scoring an unbeaten 81 and Karun Nair contributing 74 not out, leading the team to 187-1 in just 33 overs before rain interrupted the match, prompting the use of the VJD method.
Lad, who scored 38 runs in the match, expressed his dissatisfaction with the early start time at the BCCI’s Centre For Excellence. “The toss was pivotal. If semi-finals and finals are scheduled for 1:30 pm, why have a quarter-final at 9:00 am, especially in Bengaluru’s overcast weather? With the right infrastructure, the toss shouldn’t be such a decisive factor. The ball moves around a lot in the first 30-40 overs, making it tough to score runs,” Lad remarked in an interview with mid-day on Tuesday.
This loss marks Mumbai’s second consecutive exit from a knockout phase, having also fallen short in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament last month. Raju Kulkarni, former Mumbai captain and current chairman of the MCA’s Cricket Improvement Committee, pointed to the team’s frequent changes as a contributing factor. A total of 22 players represented Mumbai this season in the VHT, including notable figures such as Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shivam Dube.
“The Mumbai team struggled to find stability in both the SMAT and VHT due to constant player changes, inconsistent availability of international players, and fitness issues. We leaned heavily on individual talent rather than cohesive team performance. One off day led to our downfall, and unfortunately, our young players did not capitalize on their chances,” Kulkarni added in his comments to mid-day on Tuesday.