'Our aim is to win the Ranji Trophy...': Mumbai's new chief selector Rajesh Pawar

Rajash Pawar. Pic/Prakash Parsekar

Mumbai's new chief selector Rajesh Pawar, who picked up 10 wickets in the 1999-2000 Ranji Trophy final win over the Mohammad Azharuddin-led Hyderabad team, insists that nothing less than the Ranji title will do in the upcoming 2026-27 domestic season.

Pawar, 46, a former Mumbai and Baroda left-arm spinner, was named chairman of the Mumbai senior team selection committee by the Mumbai Cricket Association on Thursday, while Omkar Salvi was retained as the team's head coach.

"Taking 20 wickets in a match is important because good bowlers win you tournaments. But finding such wicket-taking bowlers has been our concern. It's my duty now to watch and identify them. Our selection committee will meet soon to plan for the upcoming season where my focus will be on bowlers. Our aim is to win the Ranji Trophy," Pawar told mid-day on Thursday.

Pawar, who guided the Mumbai U-23 team to the 2022 CK Nayudu Trophy title as head coach, admitted that his new role brings added responsibility. "It's a new responsibility, but my experience with the Mumbai U-23 team will be useful because I know most of the players' strengths. I know these players are good and equally determined to win the championship. Even when we played, our focus was only on winning the championship, not just to reach the final. We will not consider the season successful if we finish runners-up. I will take this challenge as motivation," Pawar added.

Ravi Thakkar, Jitendra Thackeray, Vikrant Yeligeti, and Ravi Kulkarni are the other senior team selectors. The MCA also introduced a U-23 selection committee, to be headed by Deepak Jadhav. The head coach will be former Mumbai and Railways batter Amit Pagnis, who served as Vidarbha's U-23 head coach last season.