Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 14 (ANI): Dhawal Kulkarni hailed the leadership skills of Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane and called him an inspiration for the young captains after their triumph against Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
In his farewell game, Kulkarni who was wicketless in the second innings was handed the ball by skipper Rahane which gave him the opportunity to bag the last wicket of the final.
“Ajinkya Rahane leading from the front, he always thinks about the team. Even today in my retirement game he gave me the over to bowl. This shows how a leader should be. Ajinkya Rahane is an inspiration to young leaders,” Kulkarni told ANI.
Mumbai were nearly flawless in their triumphant campaign which saw them secure the 42nd Ranji Trophy title. They suffered just one defeat throughout the campaign and Kulkarni talked about the mindset of the team which contributed to their success.
“We focused on our process, hard work and we didn’t focus on the result in the group stage. In the knockouts, we played good teams and everybody contributed even the support staff, their contribution is important,” Kulkarni stated.
One of the standout players for Musheer Khan. In three matches he struck an astounding 433 runs at a scintillating average of 108.25 which included 203* against Baroda.
“Musheer came in from the U-19 team and showed that he has the potential to perform at such a level. Mumbai team is known for this, youngsters coming in and adapting. Musheer had adapted well. Tanush Kotian has been a terrific performer for the past two to three years for Mumbai and I think he will go forward from here,” Kulkarni said.
With the Indian Premier League (IPL) just a week away, some of the players from the Mumbai team will be featuring in the much-awaited tournament. Even though the format is different, Kulkarni believes that the confidence will help the players perform well in the tournament.
“IPL is a differnet format but they will take the confidence from here because they have played well throughout the season. Tushar Deshpande, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas played two matches and has performed well,” Kulkarni stated. (ANI)
