Former World Cupper Ajit Agarkar speaks on his appointment as Mumbai captain

There's a turnaround in relations between Ajit Agarkar and the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). Yesterday, the former India pacer was officially appointed Mumbai captain of the one-day team for the West Zone league matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy from February 22 to 26. India batsman Ajinkya Rahane will be his deputy.


Mumbai captain Ajit Agarkar

Agarkar, who left for home from Cuttack after being left out of the playing XI in a Ranji Trophy league match against Orissa in November and subsequently made himself unavailable for the rest of the season, recently reconciled with the MCA after a meeting with chief selector Milind Rege, vice-president Prof Ratnakar Shetty and joint secretary Nitin Dalal.

The veteran pacer, who played 26 Tests, 191 ODIs and four T20 internationals, in an interview to MiD DAY yesterday said he was happy to play again and never thought about captaining Mumbai.

Excerpts:

How does it feel to get the Mumbai captaincy after waiting for almost 16 years?
It is definitely a huge honour to captain Mumbai even though it is in the limited overs game. I have captained Mumbai earlier as well in the Deodhar Trophy and asu00a0 stand-in skipper in the Ranji Trophy, but it is nice to be an official captain.