Shreyas Iyer Returns to Ranji Trophy after BCCI Axing; His Captain Ajinkya Rahane Drops 'Contribution' Word
On Friday, the captain of Mumbai, Ajinkya Rahane, backed Shreyas Iyer to put the contractual turmoil behind him and deliver a punchy performance for the team in the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy against Tamil Nadu, which is going to start on Saturday. Shreyas and Ishan Kishan of Jharkhand were not considered for the annual central contracts after both players skipped the Ranji matches of their respective teams in violation of BCCI's diktat.
Shreyas sat out of the quarterfinals of Mumbai against Baroda here while complaining of back pain.
Rahane told the media here at the BKC Ground, "He's an experienced player. His contribution has been amazing whenever he has turned up for Mumbai. We are thrilled to have him on our team for the semifinal.”
Rahane said Shreyas would not require any extra motivation to do well for Mumbai against TN.
Rahane said, "I don't think he needs any encouragement or advice. He has always contributed with the bat for Mumbai, and his being around other players in the dressing room will also help the team's cause.”
Ajinkya said he needed to bat freely to get back into his run-scoring ways.
He added, “I just have to go out there and play freely. I feel that as a player, you have to be confident, respect a phase, move forward, and learn whatever you can. You don't want to go too far ahead."