Sanjay Patil, who was reappointed as chief selector by the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Raju Kulkarni-led Cricket Improvement Committee on Wednesday, says he will stress on the discipline factor and seek consistency from the players who will be selected for the upcoming domestic season.
Patil, 61, was shouldering the same responsibility last season, when 42-time Ranji champs Mumbai lost to eventual champions Vidarbha by 80 runs in the semi-finals at Nagpur.
“As chairman of the senior selection committee, my focus will be on getting consistent performances from the players. Discipline and integrity will also be key qualities for those who wish to get selected for Mumbai,” Patil told mid-day on Thursday.
Patil, a former Mumbai left-arm spinner, insisted that the players should give importance to all MCA-conducted tournaments and strive to get noticed by their performances. “Every cricketer who wishes to play for Mumbai must play all of MCA’s club tournaments. This is mandatory for all players and their performances here will be constantly monitored. Players should realise the value of their selection to the Mumbai team. We have won the Ranji Trophy 42 times and this is the kind of dominant performance we expect from our players,” said Patil, who will work alongside selectors Ravi Thakkar, Jeetendra Thackeray, Deepak Jadhav and Vikrant Yeligati. Omkar Salvi was recently reappointed as Mumbai’s head coach.
Patil has promised to promote young talent. “We gave chances to a lot of young talent last season and they performed well. Opener Ayush Mhatre is one such example. My focus will be on youngsters again this season,” he said, adding that bowlers will be in focus too: “To win Ranji Trophy outright, while it’s important to score big runs, it is also vital that we take 20 wickets. So, our concentration this time will be on bowlers too. We are planning to have camps for both spinners and fast bowlers,” Patil concluded.
