Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube may end up in trouble after missing Mumbai's match 

What's the story?

India's limited-overs stars Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube may have landed themselves in trouble after skipping Mumbai's Ranji Trophy match against Railways. The Mumbai Cricket Association officials may not ask the selectors to include the duo in the squad for the upcoming matches.

The background

Middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer and all-rounder Shivam Dube had made a name for themselves while playing for Mumbai in the domestic circuit. They played an important role in the success that the state team achieved but recently, they chose to take some rest instead of turning up for Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy fixture versus Railways.

Mumbai lost the game by 10 wickets as the team dearly missed the services of the experienced duo. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav tried his best to save the day for Mumbai however, the batsmen could not cross the 200 runs mark in either of the innings.

The heart of the matter

As reported by TOI, Iyer and Dube's absence has not gone down well with the MCA officials. The source quoted a top MCA official as follows:

"It's an unfortunate episode for Mumbai cricket. They told us they had been 'advised rest' by the BCCI. However, when we checked with the selectors, we were told that there was no such instruction sent out from the selectors, at least. So who asked them to rest? The physio of the Indian team or the trainer? Or they did choose to rest themselves and fired from the Board's shoulders? This is something, that no one in the MCA, including the selectors, has appreciated. This issue will surely be discussed in the next Apex Council meeting of the association. We may take some sort of action soon."

Another MCA official opined that the current cricketers do not have the same commitment towards Mumbai that players like Eknath Solkar and Sudhakar Adhikari had.

Interestingly, fast bowler Shardul Thakur turned up to play for Mumbai though he was a part of the Indian playing XI for the third ODI versus West Indies.

What's next?

It will be intriguing to see what action the MCA takes against Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube. As far as Mumbai's Ranji Trophy campaign is concerned, the team will look to bounce back when they meet Karnataka in round 4.