Tare sacked as captain, Rahane to lead Mumbai in Vijay Hazare Trophy

MUMBAI: Aditya Tare, under whom Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy in the 2015-16 season, and marched into the final of the same tournament a year later, has been sacked as Mumbai captain. The 30-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman had endured ordinary form with the bat last season in all the three formats of the game.
On Wednesday, the selectors, led by former India all-rounder Ajit Agarkar, decided that Ajinkya Rahane, who will return from England on Thursday, will lead the team for the first four games of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Bangalore.Interestingly, Shreyas Iyer has been named as the vice-captain of the side. Guided by a new coach, former wicketkeeper Vinayaka Samant, Mumbai launch their campaign against Baroda on September 19 in Alur.
TOI had reported on Wednesday that Rahane is slated to play the One-day tournament. "We've got the India vice-captain (Rahane) playing this time (in Vijay Hazare) for Mumbai, which hasn't happened in the last few years. We're quite happy that he's available. Shreyas is the India A captain. So, it's not about removing anyone. We'll take a call (on Mumbai captaincy for the Ranji Trophy) seeing who's available at that point in time," Agarkar told TOI.
"Tare is still an important, senior player for us. He's our first-choice wicketkeeper. He's been around for a while, and we need experience," he said. Tare had managed just 237 runs in six games @ 23.70, including three fifties in the Ranji Trophy, 186 runs in seven games @ 26.57 (two fifties) in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and 145 runs in eight games @24.16 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament in 2017-18. Tare was made the captain in the middle of a tumultous 2014-15 season of the Ranji Trophy, which saw Mumbai lose to Karnataka in the semis.
Rahane himself went through a poor series with the bat against England - in which he managed just 257 runs in five Tests @ 25.70, including two fifties - and would be keen to recover some form ahead of the Test series against the West Indies at home. A good show in this One-day tournament may just help him stay in fray for a spot in India's team for the World Cup in England next year.
Mumbai have also been bolstered by the presence of Iyer - who was dropped from the Indian team which will take part in the Asia Cup later this month due to poor form with India A, and opener Prithvi Shaw, who recently received his maiden India call-up for the last two Tests in England.
Mumbai squad: Ajinkay Rahane (captain), Prithvi Shaw, Jay Bista, Suryakumar Yadav, Siddhesh Lad, Aditya Tare, Eknath Kerkar, Shivam Dubey, Akash Parkar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shams Mulani, Vijay Gohil, Tushar Deshpande, Roston Dias.
Mumbai's schedule in Vijay Hazare: Vs Baroda on September 19, vs Karnataka on Sept 21, vs Railways on Sept 23, Vs Vidarbha on Sept 24, Vs Punjab on Sept 28, Vs Himachal on Sept 30, Vs Goa on Oct 2, Vs Maharashtra on Oct 6.