Mumbai cricketers should realise the worth of a Mumbai cap, says chief selector Sanjay Patil

How would you describe the overall season?

We need to concentrate more on youngsters. It’s time to look beyond the same old faces and focus on youngsters’ technique, performance, skills and temperament. The selectors should be slightly more proactive in pushing for the changes. The players should realise their worth and the value they lend to the team set-up. If they can deliver to their optimum, it can lead to the glory days being revived. Look, we haven’t fared badly. A title (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy) and a semifinal (Ranji Trophy) is not bad at all but it’s definitely not worthy of the dominant past Mumbai cricket has. We are losing from unacceptable situations. It is concerning that the domination is missing. Mumbai was extremely powerful in reacting to a crisis, that’s missing now. The seniors are wary about certain players in the opposition and it’s discussed in front of youngsters now. That’s concerning. Mumbai’s 42 Ranji titles are based on its sheer performance and dominance. Last year’s title was due to the ability to bounce back. The likes of Shardul Thakur and Tanush Kotian – somewhat Shams Mulani – have bailed the team out time and again, the less said about others the better!

How would you assess the performance in the Ranji Trophy?

Very upset with the way they played (in the Ranji Trophy). It was something that’s not expected from Test players and the so-called India cricketers. The kind of dedication we experienced from our seniors was never on display from the current lot. If you are joining the team and are happy only to be signing autographs, it speaks volumes about you. That was the biggest difference between Vidarbha and Mumbai in the semifinals. The greed and grit to win was never seen in the semifinal, or throughout since the second half of the Ranji Trophy. Totally upset with all the big players, including Suryakumar Yadav.

First I congratulate Ajit Agarkar, Jay Shah and all the BCCI authorities who forced all the big cricketers to represent their own state teams. Every cricketer owes most of his achievements to his own state. But whenever all the internationals were made to play domestic cricket, they merely participated in these games instead of being involved in the game. The legacy of Mumbai cricket – especially when it comes to international stars’ involvement in Mumbai cricket – was not at all seen and it needs to be fixed.

It’s not that Mumbai isn’t capable but you need the hunger to perform as a team and for the team. That hunger was missing from the seniors who came in and their lack of interest in a way rubbed on to the youngsters. I will not blame the youngsters but the established stars who have graduated from this level and came back should have dominated at this level. It never happened. It has to change.

How can it change?

I have a request for the association to make sure the international stars are made aware of it. Otherwise it becomes unfair on the team and the rising stars. Our association has always stood by us but had no option due to the BCCI diktat.

I have a request for Ajit, his committee and the BCCI that whenever you ask the international stars to turn up for their state teams, their performances should be closely monitored. They were asked to play and they did, mostly for the sake of it. All of them should have been monitored by the Indian national selection committee. If you see, all of them only participated, didn’t really perform. And it reflects in their team’s performance.

Can you talk about the bright spots of the season?

When I was appointed as the chairman of selectors, one of my main objectives was to create a feeder line for the next four-five years. Vidarbha has managed to do it quite effectively and it is reaping rewards, finalist last year and two finals this year. I wanted to give a chance to youngsters. And that’s a plus for us, Ayush Mhatre has performed well. Himanshu Singh has done well. Angkrish (Raghuvanshi) and Suryansh (Shedge) have also done exceptionally. So almost all the five-six youngsters we have tried out have done exceedingly well. That’s a positive. But they had to miss out on the big games whenever the stalwarts came. And it resulted in those games ending up as either defeats or draws.

How do you justify Siddhesh Lad’s comeback amidst the policy of promoting youngsters then? No doubt Lad is the highest run-getter for Mumbai but he is 32 and had been overlooked for four years…

I really appreciate the way he showed determination. We should also consider that it is never easy for a cricketer who has been omitted for a long time to straight away come in and perform. He has delivered almost every time we wanted him to, except only for the fourth innings in the semifinal.

No doubt Siddhesh has grabbed every opportunity presented to him with both hands but what signal does it send to the likes of Suryansh Shedge, Suved Parkar and Armaan Jaffer who have stepped into the shoes during these four seasons?

Look, the Mumbai selectors over the years have been consciously trying to have the presence of two senior batters in the middle-order. Their experience has always come in handy and has been instrumental in each of our title triumphs. Their presence results in boosting the team performance and team morale. To be honest, Siddhesh was in a way unfairly dropped after three-four bad matches in a season. You need at least a couple of senior batters who are a certainty in the starting line-up. Their experience counts when the team is in a spot of bother. Siddhesh did it consistently.

You had Rahane as the experienced batter…

Ajinkya (Rahane) also did it to an extent. There were times Whenever he was required to score runs, Ajinkya couldn’t but he delivered in a couple of knocks only over the last two seasons. The second innings of the quarterfinal and last year’s final. But that’s not enough, honestly. For the kind of legacy that Mumbai cricket boasts of, I am overwhelmed with the high esteem other teams and associations hold us at. But I feel such performances are in a way cutting short the legacy. We need to take harsh calls and not pamper too many of them. I feel it’s time to carry forward with the attempts made by my selection committee – well supported by Ajinkya Naik (MCA president) and the apex council – in future. If we keep pampering the big names, we will keep going downhill.

Do you think this team would have delivered over the last two Ranji seasons without Rahane as captain?

We cannot conclude anything on such a hypothesis. Look, every individual has a different leadership capability. I was sitting with a couple of national selectors during the Irani Cup tie in Lucknow and we discussed that Ajinkya’s captaincy made a big difference. It definitely meant a lot. But only captaincy will not help. He also has to realise it. We need to think about it for sure. He also needs to think about all these factors. He has to lead by example. And bowling, by the way, is a huge worry. We need to find quality bowlers somehow.

Has the selection committee considered his successor for the transition plan?

It’s again hypothetical. I don’t know whether I will be around or not next season, to begin with. All I would stress on is that we have tried our best to bring back Mumbai’s cricket’s glory days but more than us, it’s those who enter the boundary rope who should realise it. The association is providing them with all the facilities, no stone is left unturned. After all this, if you are only going to participate and not compete, look Mumbai cricket has never been about representation like most other teams, it’s only about winning. We have won 42 titles. Besides, one should also consider that not every title-winning team sees players selected for India. Look at us, when you perform for Mumbai, it paves your way for wearing the India jersey. The best recent example is Tanush Kotian. And that legacy was set by the Wadekars, the Gavaskars, the Vengsarkars and even their predecessors, not because of the current lot.

What is it that’s missing?

I am distressed and distraught while saying it but the current lot is not really concerned about it. They need to start realising the worth of a Mumbai cap. And if they do not have the grit and greed to succeed for Mumbai, they should not be wearing the Lion’s crest. We lacked the grit to win. Had it not been the case, we would have been preparing for the final right now. Too many guys are shying away from the responsibility and instead leaving it to someone else. That doesn’t help the team. It was evident in the semifinal.

When a young player is selected for Mumbai for the first time, he has faced hundreds of cricketers in thousands of matches en route. His maturity level is much higher than anyone else in domestic cricket. But when they do not apply and offers excuses like from any other state, it’s time to think about whether they deserve to be in the final.

There have been increasing murmurs with every passing year about certain “quotas” having developed in squad selection?

I do not understand the kind of quotas that anyone is referring to. If someone is discussing it, they should tell us who they are referring to! I can vouch for the fact that the Mumbai senior men’s selection committee has had only a quota in mind, which is the improvement of Mumbai cricket and to select the squad with the best chance to win a tournament. We have never asked for a club a player represents and we have also believed in a player’s abilities beyond his performance on the maidans. I have been given the responsibility of helping Mumbai cricket and I along with all my four colleagues have fulfilled it with utmost sincerity. I will never forget that I was spotted from G Division and elevated to the Ranji Trophy, so I try to be fair to every player around.