Mumbai’s left-arm spinner, Shams Mulani, has great admiration for the team captain, Ajinkya Rahane. Mulani, who is also part of the leadership group as Rahane’s deputy, praised Rahane’s leadership qualities and excellence in an interview with Sportskeeda. He emphasized the refreshing experience for Mumbai players to be led by someone as successful as Rahane. Additionally, Mulani shared his experience leading the team in a recent match when Rahane was sidelined due to a hamstring injury in their defeat to Uttar Pradesh.
Ajinkya Rahane is a true leader and gets the best out of his teammates. It is always great to have a player of his stature, who has played so many Test matches for India, lead the Mumbai team as he knows exactly what needs to be said at what time.”
While Rahane may be struggling with the bat in the Ranji Trophy 2023/24, his leadership skills are unquestionable. A prime example is India’s remarkable Test series victory against Australia in 2020-21.
Insights from Shams Mulani on Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy Performance
Mumbai is leading Elite Group B in the Ranji Trophy with 20 points, securing three outright wins in their initial three games. Despite reaching the final in 2021/22, they fell short and lost to Madhya Pradesh. Shams Mulani shares his thoughts on the current Mumbai team.
We did play in the final of the 2021/22 Ranji Trophy but unfortunately we lost. But it does happen that if we don’t win for 2-3 years, suddenly there are talks about a crisis in Mumbai cricket. That’s the benchmark we have set.”
He added:“If you look at our batting and bowling, apart from a few players that have gone to play for India A and Indian team, most of other players are available. They bring experience with them and it helps the team in crunch situations in the Ranji Trophy.”
Mumbai narrowly lost a thrilling match to Uttar Pradesh by two wickets, but it doesn’t impact their standing in the points table. Mumbai has an impressive record with 41 Ranji Trophy titles, the most recent one in 2015/16.
