Mumbai cricket team captain Siddhesh Lad has cried foul over the early start to Vijay Hazare Trophy matches following the team’s loss to Karnataka in the quarterfinal. Lad and co. were handed a 55-run defeat via the VJD method after rain played spoilsport towards the end of the contest. Lad claimed that a start as early as 9 AM only favoured one team while it did injustice to the other, and urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to revise the timings.
Mumbai captain unhappy with early start for VHT games
Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, Lad claimed that it made no sense for the VHT quarterfinal to start at 9 AM and that the ball was seaming around for 40-45 overs during Mumbai’s innings which saw their young batters struggle. He said that any cricketer would label it as a big disadvantage to the team that was batting first and that it was impossible to put up a good score. The Mumbai captain claimed that the ‘generous covering of grass’ coupled with the early start time was a trouble for team’s batting first.
“I request the BCCI to stage the VHT quarterfinals in the day/night format from the next season, so that any team batting first does not face a disadvantage. I can understand that you cannot play day/night matches in the league stage as there are many teams involved. However, you can play under the light in KOs as only 8 teams are there,” Mumbai’s Lad said.
Lad further claimed that this was by no means an excuse given by Mumbai for losing the contest but was something that was happening for a long time. Mumbai managed to score 254/8 at the end of 50 overs, with Shams Mulani emerging as the top run-getter with his 86-run knock.
Incidentally, the teams that batted first on January 12 (Monday) – Mumbai and UP – lost their respective games while the teams that batted first in round 2 of the quarterfinals on January 13 (Tuesday) – Saurashtra and Punjab – ended up as the winners, thus providing a contrasting view to what the Mumbai captain has suggested.
