Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Back on home turf, Siddhesh Lad loving second innings with Mumbai

Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Back on home turf, Siddhesh Lad loving second innings with Mumbai

Siddhesh Lad shifted base from Mumbai to Goa three years ago, hoping to revive his career. Back then, with a bunch of young cricketers coming in, Lad was no longer an automatic choice for Mumbai, which forced him to look for options.

However, the stint with Goa did not go the way he had expected. Though he played some decent knocks, big scores eluded him. And, that’s when he decided to return to Mumbai and go into a mandatory cooling-off period for a year before being eligible to play for the domestic giant again.

It was a challenging time, but Lad put in the hard yards and trained regularly to ensure that he was ready for the new innings. And eventually, when Mumbai picked him in its squad for the current season, he made the most of the opportunity.

While he scored a couple of fifties at the start of the Ranji Trophy, Lad played an unbeaten knock of 169 against Odisha and followed it up with an unbeaten 73 against Services.

And as Mumbai took on Meghalaya in its last group league fixture at the MCA-BKC ground on Friday, he forged two key partnerships – with Ajinkya Rahane and Akash Anand – and played some classy strokes to bring up his second century of the season.

“I never thought that I would be back playing for Mumbai again because we had won the Ranji Trophy last year and boys are doing really well. But I knew somewhere the opportunity will come and I have to be ready for that. Kudos to the support staff, they have worked hard on me since June (last year),” Lad said.

Earlier, he would bat lower down the order, but this season, Lad has been one of the contenders for the No.3 slot. “I had a talk with (coach) Omkar Salvi sir at the start of the season; (as to) what my role will be, when will I get (an) opportunity? He made me ready for this situation and I’m glad that it came off nice,” he said.

And, this clear communication helped him prepare better. While he enjoyed his partnership with Rahane, Lad ensured that he did not take Meghalaya lightly. “Yes, Meghalaya is a new team, they will take some time to get acclimatised to the teams which have been playing since (many) years. They have the potential, but our coach and captain won’t let you take anyone lightly; you can’t take anyone lightly and you can’t take your place lightly in the team (as well),” he added.

Lad has no regrets about his stint with Goa ending earlier than expected. “I consider every game as my last game and that’s how it has always been,” he said.

Happy to be back in Mumbai, where it all started for him, Lad now hopes to continue the dream run and play a pivotal role in guiding the team to glory.