We have to look beyond legacy of Mumbai cricket to keep winning, asserts Aditya Tare

04/02/2018

Mumbai captain Aditya Tare feels that the legacy and the history Mumbai cricket has built over the years will not help them going forward. He also felt that the exclusion of the experienced Abhishek Nayar was tough to handle and it is difficult for the guy coming in to replace him.

Mumbai is a city which is known to produce excellent cricketers apart from the rich history and legacy to enhance their status. They have won a staggering 41 Ranji Trophy titles - 33 more than second-placed Karnataka. However, this season Mumbai struggled in all formats. They were knocked out in the Ranji Trophy quarters, they scraped through to the Mushtaq Ali second round and once again couldn’t go past the quarters in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Mumbai skipper Aditya Tare feels they need to leave behind the legacy of Mumbai cricket and focus on the present. He also felt that it was important to have good facilities and infrastructures as Mumbai also suffers from the monsoon which hampers their preparation.

“The only thing is we have a lot of inspiration to draw from the glorious history behind us. But I don’t think history is going to help us win going forward. We have to look beyond the legacy of Mumbai cricket to keep winning. We have been training at BKC for 10 years. I’ve had a word with the association that the gym is not good enough to improve our standards. It might be good enough to maintain the standard but during the off-season you can’t give justice to 100 players who train there every day in that small space.

“Plus, we tend to suffer from the monsoon. The first outdoor session we usually have is two days before the first Ranji game. That’s why you see Mumbai struggle in the first couple of games every time… and then we struggle to qualify. The first time I led the full season, my first outdoor session was in Andhra and we lost. Preparation-wise a lot of things need to change. For that we need infrastructure, better facilities,” Aditya Tare was quoted saying by TOI.

Looking back at the season that went by, Tare felt that Mumbai struggled across formats.

“We struggled in Ranji, one-dayers, T20s. We missed important players when we needed them the most. Five debutants in Vijay Hazare, two-three in Ranji quarters… we faced those challenges, and as a captain, the results have been disappointing. Personally, I thought it was very stressful to see these performances,”the 30-year-old said.

Abhishek Nayar’s form was a big worry for Mumbai and hence he was dropped after the first few games of the Ranji Trophy. Tare felt that Nayar’s exclusion played a part in the poor performance as one cannot buy experience.

“Someone as experienced as Nayar who had done extremely well the year before in all formats, suddenly three four-games he wasn’t at his best and was dropped. It was difficult, you lose someone of his calibre – both on and off the field, the roles he has played over the past few years. You cannot replace him in a year. Whoever is replacing him, you have to give three-four years to find his feet. It was a big loss, especially because he is an allrounder. He gives us some confidence that we still have Nayar at 7 who can bat around with the tail and an exceptional bowler with the red ball. It’s not that he was unfit or struggling, purely dropped on form,” Tare added.

The 30-year-old skipper felt that it would be great if the bowling attack had more variety.

“It will be great if we have variety… a good legspinner, an offspinner. We don’t have a genuine offspinner since Ramesh Powar went six years ago. Sai [raj Bahutule] retired years back. We haven’t answered that question as well. I have not really thought of where they came from or what the thought process was of identifying that talent. I would love to have 3-4 guys with different skills and then work around with who is needed or who is in form. At the moment we have just heaps of left-arm spinners,” he revealed.

Tare himself didn’t have a great season. Along with Tare, there were a couple other senior players who had an off-season where nothing went right for them.

“I have failed as a player this season. I haven’t scored the runs I usually do. That has been disappointing, as a player and captain. Probably it is my worst year in the six seasons I have played for Mumbai. You can’t expect results when your captain and other experienced players are not performing. Dhawal (Kulkarni) was not among wickets, Surya [kumar Yadav] was not among runs, I was a complete disaster. We were dependent on Siddhesh Lad, who has become a better player. We made a decision that he should bat up the order, which has shown results. That is one positive. Lad has stepped up his game, accepted more responsibility, and done it in all three formats,” the Mumbai Indians player revealed.

Aditya Tare will be representing Mumbai Indians in the upcoming season of the IPL.