Mumbai cricketer Dhawal Kulkarni feels very unhappy after he has been rested in the upcoming Ranji Trophy game against Vidarbha.
The 30-year-old right-arm pacer recently missed some matches due to an ankle injury. Recently, he made a comeback in the previous game against Saurashtra but later he was forced to withdraw his name from the squad due to the fitness issue.
After regaining his fitness, Kulkarni was excited to feature in the upcoming Ranji Trophy game against Vidarbha, starting on this Sunday (December 30). But, the Mumbai captain has been rested for the game too, despite having no further fitness issues. He is very unimpressed with this decision.
On Friday (December 28), Kulkarni told Mumbai Mirror, “I was looking forward to playing the last two games which I think are very important for Mumbai. I was cleared by the physios at the NCA and I have submitted my fitness report. Obviously, I am disappointed, the selectors have told me that I have been rested. It is their decision which I have to respect.”
Making his international cricket debut in September 2014, Kulkarni has played 12 ODIs and 2 T20Is for the national team where he has picked up 19 and 3 wickets respectively. He last played for the Indian side against New Zealand at Ranchi on 26 October 2016.
Kulkarni played the last cricket match against Gujarat at Mumbai that started on 28 November. Since then, the Mumbai skipper hasn’t featured in any cricket match. Now, Kulkarni hopes to return to the Mumbai side as soon as possible.
Kulkarni added, “I am a proud Mumbai player, captained the team with pride, and I am hoping to get back into the Mumbai side at the earliest.”
Mumbai squad for the upcoming Vidarbha game: Siddhesh Lad (Captain), Shreyas Iyer, Aditya Tare, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Jay Bista, Vikrant Auti, Shubham Ranjane, Eknath Kerkar, Karsh Kothari, Dhrumil Matkar, Tanush Kotian, Minad Manjrekar, Tushar Deshpande, Royston Dias.
