Ajinkya Naik, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president, channelled his inner Sunil Gavaskar. The deadpan defence, bat and pad close together, and no room for the bowler to make one sneak through the gate, was technically perfect, in this case politically correct. The question to him during a one-on-one interview with RevSportz was about Rohit Sharma, whether the 38-year-old superstar has informed the MCA about his availability for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. Naik remained coy.
“At the moment, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) is going on and we have qualified (for the Super League stage),” Naik told RevSportz. “Our focus is on the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy now and we still have time to think about the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Once this (SMAT) is over, our selectors, team management — coach and captain — and secretary will take decisions about the Vijay Hazare Trophy. If anything needs to be communicated to the media, we will do that in due course.”
This correspondent tweaked the question a little — has the MCA received any communication from Rohit as regards the Vijay Hazare Trophy? Naik’s defence remained impregnable. “Our focus is now on the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, we can’t talk about something that’s next on the roster,” he said. “All our focus at the moment is on how we can do well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and win the title this season also, like we did last term.”
It is, however, widely believed that Rohit has decided to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the domestic 50-over tournament, which is starting on December 24. As for Virat Kohli, the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) has already confirmed his participation in the tournament.
For more updates, follow the Revsportz website.
