Clayton Murzello: When form is more vital than class

The cruel side of cricket is not lost on Mumbai allrounder Abhishek Nayar who wore India colours in limited overs cricket in 2009 His mind is probably going back to the 200607 season when Mumbai were in danger of not qualifying for the Ranji Trophy semifinals Coach Pravin Amre insisted that Nayar be included in the squad that had lost three games in a row He comes up with a heroic performance and helps Mumbai stay in the competition before going on to win their 37th Ranji Trophy title by beating Bengal in the finalIn the 200607 season Abhishek Nayars heroic performance helped Mumbai stay in the game after which the team went on to win their 37th Ranji TrophyToday Nayar finds himself out of the Mumbai team A mere 130 runs in five games caused the selectors to drop him for the allimportant last league game against Tripura Their ruthlessness bravado silliness whatever you want to call it caused the citys cricketing fraternity to give their eye balls a workout He would have earned an endorsement deal from an adhesive brand for his 108ball eight runs against Baroda but he helped his team avoid defeat in the landmark 500th Ranji Trophy gameEarlier this week Mumbai ended up winning the game against Tripura convincingly and are through to the knockouts If there was a positive for Nayar it was in the fact that he was not included in the squad and dropped from the playing XI If that had been the case the sounds of why include him in the first place would echo not only at the Wankhede Stadium but across the maidans and gymkhanasNayar is cerebral and though he could well be bleeding hell wear that steely robe and vow to return in that lioncrested shirt Thirtyfour is no age to call it a day in firstclass cricket and Nayar would do well to abandon all thoughts of premature retirement Besides hes not the first illustrious player to be dropped to find no place for himself in a Mumbai teamFast bowler Umesh Kulkarni who went on Indias tour of Australia in 196768 without setting the Yarra river on fire found himself out of favour when it came to representing Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy His last firstclass game for the city was the 196869 Irani Cup game in MumbaiA few seasons later Sudhir Naik led a Mumbai team to Ranji Trophy glory despite five stalwarts Ajit Wadekar Dilip Sardesai Ashok Mankad Eknath Solkar and Sunil Gavaskar being on tour with the India team in 1971 Yet Naik did not figure in the following years final I was hurt but it made me stronger I wanted to prove myself all the more I was also disappointed when I was dropped from the team for the knockout stage of the 196970 Ranji Trophy after scoring a hundred against Maharashtra he told meNaik who felt he should have been in contention for the Indian team in 197071 finally played for India in 1974 Shishir Hattangadi is another captain who had to bite his lip and accept his fate I was named captain of Mumbai for the 199192 season but I was dropped Dilip Vengsarkar returned from the Australian tour and led the team Hattangadi recalled He was stung but not stunned because he was deeply entrenched in the culture of Mumbai cricket When he made his Ranji Trophy debut against Maharashtra at the Wankhede Stadium in the 198182 season a big name was not on the team sheet Eknath Solkar Mind you the former India allrounder had led Mumbai to a Ranji Trophy win the previous season against a feisty Bishan Singh Bediled Delhi side The Mumbai team for the 198182 season Ranji Trophy opener consisted of six Test players Sunil Gavaskar Dilip Vengsarkar Sandeep Patil Ashok Mankad Ravi Shastri and Karsan Ghavri and two future ones Suru Nayak and Balvinder Singh SandhuAnd there is no evidence of a furore caused by Solkars exclusion The West Zone Ranji Trophy League summary in Sportsweeks World of Cricket 1982 only said this about the citys campaign Bombay had a new find leftarm spinner Ravindra Thakkar who claimed 21 wickets highest for the team in the league ahead of others like Shastri Sandhu and Ghavri Zulfiqar Parkar set a Ranji record of 10 dismissals in the match against MaharashtraSome will view it as curtains while others will try and convince themselves that they are not totally out of the scheme of things I dont think a Mumbai player views a dropping as a calamity said Hattangadi who was keen on a youth policy when he became a Mumbai selectorEvery season that Mumbai doesnt enter as defending champions is treated as a vital and delicate season This one is no different They are up against old foes Karnataka in the quarterfinals on December 7 The match will be played on neutral turf in Nagpur So much for creating interest in domestic cricket But of course this is because the Ranji Trophy is not the premier domestic tournament for some Theres another tournament which is Premiermiddays group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from 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