Dhawal Kulkarni to lead Mumbai in initial stage of Ranji Trophy

It was not surprising at all when Kulkarni was asked to lead Mumbai in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who will be busy playing for India in the three-match T20 series against West Indies starting from November 4 followed by another three-match T20 series in Australia later this month.

It’s not easy to be a seam bowler in India. It becomes harder if you play for Mumbai, the land known for producing some of the best batsmen who went on to represent India with a few of them even becoming world beaters but the same cannot be said about their fast bowlers. Things are changing though and Dhawal Kulkarni is the flag bearer of that change.

The spearhead of Mumbai’s bowling attack for the last few seasons has been one of the principal factors behind the tectonic shift in Mumbai’s approach, which is now centred on their fast bowlers even more so because of rarely being able to field their best batting line-up comprising of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer and Prithvi Shaw. Mumbai’s current Ranji Trophy squad has only one specialist spinner and a couple of other all-rounders who can roll their arms over but the bulk of responsibility to get 20 wickets rests on the seamers’ – Dhawal Kularni, Tushar Deshpande and Akash Parkar – shoulders.

It was not surprising at all when Kulkarni was asked to lead Mumbai in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who will be busy playing for India in the three-match T20 series against West Indies starting from November 4 followed by another three-match T20 series in Australia later this month.

 “It’s a proud moment for me to lead Mumbai and an opportunity which I’m looking forward to. I just want to be positive and spread that same attitude among others,” Kulkarni told Wah Cricket.

Kulkarni is set to lead Mumbai for the initial stages of the Ranji Trophy. “We don’t expect Shreyas to be back before December, so Dhawal is certain to lead till then,” said a Mumbai Cricket official.

The extra spring in Kulkarni’s step ahead of their Ranji Trophy opener against Railways at Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi, which would mark his debut as a captain was unmissable. His deliveries albeit in the nets had something extra, his stretches after the practice session were a clear give away that he meant business.

“I was the highest wicket-taker in Vijay Hazare among seamers, obviously the ultimate goal is to get back to the Indian side. I’m positive, have spoken to a few guys, they are also looking positive, just need to back it up with a good Ranji season,” Kulkarni said when asked about his comeback to the Indian side, which has eluded him for the last two years.

But for 29-year-old who took 18 wickets at an average of 17 in Mumbai’s triumphant Vijay Hazare campaign, the priority at the moment is to lead Mumbai to the Ranji title

“We had great start to the season. Winning the Vijay Hazare are after 12 years gave us a big boost and hopefully, we can continue that in the Ranji Trophy. We need to get back the championship, that is what I want from the team. We have match winners in this team, as well as young guys, who are looking to do well.”