Reports | Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube in hot water after missing Mumbai's Ranji Trophy encounter
India internationals Shivam Dube and Shreyas Iyer have attracted unwanted spotlight after missing the Ranji match against Railways which Mumbai lost by 10 wickets. The youngsters might reportedly be facing serious repercussions from the MCA for skipping the match for no solid reason.
Record Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai were decimated in a comprehensive manner by 10 wickets by Railways at the Wankhede as Shivam Dube and Shreyas Iyer chose to do away with the encounter. Having been released from international duties a couple of days prior to the encounter, the youngsters didn’t show up for the home game.
Their absence has drawn criticism from former Mumbai players as Shardul Thakur, who also was a part of the Indian side for the West Indies, showed up for the domestic encounter. Mumbai missed the current national team members badly as they lost the encounter under three days.
"Mumbai team ni mast dabba ghatla (Mumbai team put out a very poor show. Very poor from the team. Disappointed to see @ ShreyasIyer15 & @IamShivam-Dube not being a part of the Mumbai set up for this game when the international game is 5 days away. Would like to see the best team playing when possible. #RanjiTrophy," tweeted ex-India batsman Vinod Kambli.
"Why are @ShreyasIyer15 #shivamdube not turning up for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy? Have they been asked to rest? @ RaviShastriOfc," wondered former Mumbai opener Shishir Hattangadi.
According to a TOI report, a Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) official shared that the association will not be taken lightly by the governing body and action awaits the two players. Dube and Iyer will be unavailable for selection for the next round of Ranji matches due to national duties but selectors might overlook them in the future until they give a valid explanation for their actions.
"It's an unfortunate episode for Mumbai cricket. They told us that they had been 'advised rest' by the BCCI. However, when we checked with the selectors, we were told that there was no such instruction sent out to them from the selectors, at least. So, who asked them to rest? The physio of the Indian or the trainer? Or did they choose to rest themselves and fired from the Board's shoulder? This is something that no one in the MCA, including the selectors, has appreciated. This issue will surely be discussed in the next Apex Council meeting of the association. We may take some sort of action soon," a top MCA official told TOI.