Mumbai, Jan 22 (IANS) Shardul Thakur’s childhood coach, Dinesh Lad, revealed that the Mumbai captain sustained a minor leg injury, leading him to skip the Ranji Trophy match against Hyderabad on Thursday.

Thakur has been Mumbai’s captain since the start of the tournament, guiding the team to three wins in five games, with the remaining two ending in stalemates. Nonetheless, he was unable to participate in the ongoing match against Hyderabad, with Siddhesh Lad donning the captain hat.

“Shardul faced some physical discomfort and injured his leg. He’s recovering now and getting fit, and will mostly be available for the next match. I spoke to him, and he’ll be available when they play Delhi in Mumbai,” Dinesh told IANS when asked why Shardul wasn’t participating.

Dinesh Lad, Siddhesh’s father and an experienced coach who mentored former India captain Rohit Sharma in his childhood, expressed pride in his son’s Ranji Trophy performances for Mumbai after he was named the captain of the side for the Hyderabad encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

He also mentioned that Thakur believes the 33-year-old might soon earn his maiden India call-up if he keeps performing similarly.

“I spoke to Shardul a while back, and he feels that if Siddhesh keeps performing the way he does, he might soon receive an India call-up, and I’m hopeful if he scores a couple of centuries in the next 3-4 games, he can get an India call,” Lad stated.

Reflecting on Siddhesh taking over the leadership role from Thakur while he recovers from the injury, Dinesh expressed his pride and shared a simple message for his son.

“It feels good that Shardul led the team first, and now Siddhesh is leading. I feel really proud. My only message to Siddhesh will be play good cricket and make the team proud,” he said.

Siddhesh comes into the Hyderabad fixture in fine form. In Mumbai’s previous Ranji Trophy encounter against Puducherry, the right-handed batter was named Player of the Match after scoring a commanding 170 off 285 balls in the first innings as Mumbai went on to register a massive innings-and-222-run victory.

–IANS

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