Siddhesh Lad is best known as Mumbai's crisis man after bailing them out on numerous occasions in the Ranji Trophy
Siddhesh Lad and Apoorv Wankhade
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Cricket's glorious uncertainties are not just restricted to on-field events, but off it as well. For the last four years, two promising youngsters - Siddhesh Lad (Mumbai) and Apoorv Wankhade (Kolkata) - are yet to get a game for themselves in the T20 2018 despite performing consistently on the domestic circuit.
Lad is best known as Mumbai's crisis man after bailing them out on numerous occasions in the Ranji Trophy. He was Mumbai's highest run-getter in the last Ranji season with 652 in seven matches. In the limited overs Vijay Hazare Trophy too, Lad was Mumbai's top-scorer with 373 runs in six games.
Wankhade has earned the finisher's tag for reigning Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha. He scored a match-winning, unbeaten 157 against Rest of India in the Irani Cup match at Nagpur in March. The right-hander was Vidarbha's highest run-getter (204 off six games) in the Hazare Trophy. Despite these credentials, Lad and Wankhade have yet to be capped in T20 2018. While Lad has been warming the bench for Mumbai since 2015, Wankhade, who was with Mumbai for three years, is yet to find any luck with Kolkata this time.
Ricky Ponting, Mumbai's head coach in 2016, praised Lad after a practice game. "He (Siddhesh) can hit through and over the off side. "He plays very well square of the wicket which you need to play against good fast bowling," Ponting had said.
Former Mumbai coach Lalchand Rajput advised Lad to remain positive in his approach. "He has to be positive while working in the nets or practice. It's very difficult when you are not in the XI, but it shows that he hasn't let that affect his performance in other domestic tournaments," Rajput said.
Wankhade's Mumbai-based coach Sulakshan Kulkarni said Kolkata have an ideal finisher in their ranks. "Apoorv is an aggressive batsman. He is a proven T20 player and a match-winner for Vidarbha," said Kulkarni.
Also read - Vijay Hazare Trophy: Siddhesh Lad's ton in vain, but Mumbai still qualify
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