Sanjay Manjrekar plays down fear of ‘crisis’ within Mumbai cricket team

Cricket lovers across the country were left shocked as 41-time Ranji Trophy winners Mumbai were knocked out of the competition in the preliminary round itself this season and could only manage a single win across eight games in a season that saw the participation of 25 players, and included eight debutants in the squad.

In the light of their recent failure, former Mumbai captains Milind Rege, Sanjay Manjrekar, and Sameer Dighe along with senior officials of the Mumbai Cricket Association “brainstormed” options to help improve the domestic team’s performance. However, Manjrekar has downplayed any hints of an internal ‘crisis’ within the team.

"Mumbai have won four times in the last 10 seasons. Plus, they have qualified for the final once in those years - not a bad record for any team, so it is not a situation of crisis. Mumbai cricket must understand that they can't go back to their former glory of winning every title that comes along. Indian cricket's landscape is changing and Mumbai cannot be as dominant as they used to be.

"A lot of good cricketers are emerging from all corners of India and there are competitive teams. That reality has to be acknowledged. Having said that, there is nothing to stop Mumbai from being at their best," Manjrekar told Mid-Day.

The former captains met members of the MCA Cricket Improvement Committee and the Bombay High Court-appointed ad hoc committee. Manjrekar further spoke about the long-term goals and short-term goals that the Mumbai team management must look at in the near future.

"For short-term gains, I think they have got to look at addressing the leadership and coaching . If they feel these [captain Siddhesh Lad and coach Vinayak Samant] are the right guys then the onus should be completely on them. At this level, a captain is not looking to just win matches. He is there to establish a culture - team culture, winning culture... the whole team should be focussed in one direction. The biggest secret behind Mumbai cricket's success has been leadership and the coach - two people working together, two people at the helm, responsible for the team to look really good like when Ravi Shastri was in charge [in 1993-94] when the stars were missing, or when I was in charge."

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