Mumbai’s Shams Mulani hopes to replicate Ranji performance in Irani Cup

Shams Mulani

Finally, Mumbai left-arm spinner Shams Mulani has been rewarded with a place in Rest of India's (ROI) Irani Cup squad for his consistent performances in the last two Ranji Trophy seasons.

The Mumbai left-arm spinner replaced injured Punjab leg-spinner Mayank Markande in the ROI team for the match against 2021-22 Ranji champions Madhya Pradesh starting in Gwalior today.

Mulani, 25, was the highest wicket-taker in the 2021-22 season with 45 scalps in just six games. He replicated this performance in 2022-23 by taking 46 wickets, second only to Kerala off-spinner Jalaj Saxena (50 wickets).

However, Mulani, who has also contributed with the bat - 321 and 209 runs in the last two seasons respectively - was initially ignored by the selectors for this all-important annual game.

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The national selection committee comprising SS Das, Salil Ankola, Subroto Banerjee and S Sharath picked Uttar Pradesh left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar (14 and seven wickets in last two seasons) and Markande (seven and 22 wickets) in the ROI team.

"This is a great opportunity to showcase what I have been doing for the past few years for Mumbai. This is just another game for me. I just have to do the same things for ROI now," Mulani told mid-day before leaving for Gwalior on Tuesday morning.

When asked how excited he is for his maiden Irani Cup match, Mulani said: "It's exciting because you are representing the ROI team. I got to know about it [selection] late last night [Monday]. Unfortunately, he [Mayank Markande] missed out and I got an opportunity."

Mulani termed this healthy competition. "It's healthy competition and it's going to help me improve my skills. In cricket, you are always learning. It's a great opportunity for me to become a better version of myself," he signed off.