Mumbai's Ranji Trophy players Siddhesh and Harmeet seek MCA permission to play in a T20 tournament at Los Angeles
Mumbai Ranji Trophy player Siddhesh Lad does some knocking while Harmeet Singh looks on at the Wankhede Stadium last November. File pic
Mumbai Ranji Trophy players Siddhesh Lad and Harmeet Singh are set to play in the United States of America.
Mumbai Ranji Trophy player Siddhesh Lad does some knocking while Harmeet Singh looks on at the Wankhede Stadium last November. File pic
The youngsters will participate in the Los Angeles T20 Championship to be played there from May 23 to 26. It is learnt several Pakistani and Bangladeshi players, who are out of national reckoning, will be featuring in the tournament as well.
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Lad and Harmeet, who will represent LA Cavaliers, have asked the Mumbai Cricket Association for permission. However, it could not be verified whether the MCA has given them the go-ahead.
Joint Honorary Secretary Nitin Dalal, who handles administrative issues of the senior Mumbai team, was unavailable for comment.
MCA's nod...
But Dr PV Shetty, the other Joint Honorary Secretary, said granting permission is not an issue. "We allow our players to play elsewhere if there is no clash with our tournaments or training camps.
There is nothing scheduled as of now, so getting permission should not be an issue," said Dr Shetty.
Lad is excited about playing in the USA. "It will be my first trip there and I am really excited about it. I
have never heard about US conditions, but it will be a good challenge for me. We will go there as professional players, so the expectations to perform well will be there. It will also provide good
practice as this would be the last T20 tournament of the season.
'Batting practice'
"After that, preparations for the next Ranji season will start. I am looking to get some good batting practice in competitive matches," Siddhesh told mid-day yesterday.
Lad, who will turn 22 on May 23, and Harmeet would leave on May 20 for Los Angeles. The opportunity came through a common friend of the duo who is a part of the LA T20 tournament.
Harmeet, the star of the 2012 U-19 World Cup team, is hoping to get some valuable match practice before the season kicks off in Mumbai.
"I am happy to play some matches. My aim is to do well wherever I play," said Harmeet, who was given a clean chit in the IPL-6 spot fixing scandal by the Indian cricket board.
3
The number of half-centuries Siddhesh Lad hit in his debut season for Mumbai Ranji Trophy team in 2013-14
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