Vijay Hazare Trophy | Mumbais old warhorse Siddhesh Lad is here to stay

Siddhesh Lad is an old warhorse. Having featured in 79 First Class games and 52 List-A outings, in his 12-year-long career, Lad isn’t ready to rest on his laurels yet.

After returning to his home State last season after a year at Goa, Lad has once again proved himself as the ‘Crisis Man’ for Mumbai cricket, with three centuries in the Ranji Trophy this season. Though he warmed the bench for the larger part of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Lad is back in the team for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

While he believes that the Goa stint made him stronger, returning to Mumbai wasn’t easy. He had to go for a mandatory one-year cooling-off period. “Frankly, it was very difficult for me to come back again, and go through that grind because after playing for 10-12 years, you know tough it’s tough to go back to the basics and perform,” Lad told The Hindu.

He remembers his conversation with Mumbai head coach Omkar Salvi, who told him that if he keeps performing, the doors might open again. So, Lad took up the challenge. But it was easier said than done. At 30, when most of his contemporaries were thinking about hanging up the boots, Lad was back at the maidans, starting from scratch.

“I made up my mind mentally that I have to go through all the grind again, at the age of 30.”

So, he attended a 15-day camp at the BKC ground, played the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament, and with Musheer Khan ruled out of the season after a car accident, there was a slot available for No. 3. “So, I could come into the team and eventually, find my place again,” Lad, who scored 602 runs in the 2024-25 edition of the Ranji Trophy, said.