Milind Rege was part of the Mumbai senior selection committee which picked 15-year-old Tendulkar; 28 years later, Rege, now chief selector, picked 17-year-old Shaw to make his Ranji Trophy debut
Milind Rege
Milind Rege
Rajkot: In 1988, Milind Rege was part of the Naren Tamhane-led Mumbai senior selection committee which picked 15-year-old Sachin Tendulkar to make his debut against Gujarat.
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Proud chief selector
Twenty-eight years later, Rege, now chief selector, picked 17-year-old Prithvi Shaw to make his Ranji Trophy debut here.
"Prithvi is a huge investment for Mumbai cricket," exclaimed Rege. "Hopefully, he will get the right guidance to become a better player. The sky is the limit for him. The important thing is that he has a good temperament. Let's pray this will continue," Rege said after Mumbai's win over Tami Nadu yesterday.
"Importantly, Prithvi has a high batting IQ. This knock showed that he has that IQ which is so essential for an opening batsman. He has all the shots, but needs to play shots according to the nature of the wicket," said Rege.
The former Mumbai skipper, who has observed many a great player over the years through his long association with the game, marvelled at Shaw's straight bat. "A very important factor in Prithvi's game is that he bats with a vertical bat and not a horizontal one.
What maturity!
"He batted like a matured opening batsman in a positive frame of mind.
"He always preferred to play with straight bat. He has good power and plays well off the back foot.
"He also had luck in his favour because he got a very good wicket to bat on, but in a big Ranji semi-final he showed he had the temperament for success," Rege added.
Rege's brave decision to blood a young player for a big game like a Ranji Trophy semi-final needs to be applauded.
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