The first day of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 match between Mumbai and Jammu & Kashmir was all about Umar Nazir Mir. The tall fast bowler from Jammu and Kashmir created chaos in Mumbai’s star-studded line-up and helped his team progress in the game.
Mir took four wickets in the match and one of those wickets was the great Rohit Sharma. However, he did not celebrate the wicket even though he knew it had defined his cricketing career.
Also read: Rohit Sharma clashed with the umpire over a ball change during the Ranji Trophy match against J&K
Why didn’t Umar Nazir Mir celebrate Rohit Sharma’s win?
After the day’s play ended, Umar Nazir Mir spoke about his plans to bowl to a big player like Rohit. The 6’4″ fast bowler claims to be a fan of Rohit, which is why he didn’t celebrate his wicket.
“A good ball is a good ball against any player, you don’t look at the height of the player, but Rohit Sharma’s wicket is big, I am happy,” Mir told reporters after the Day 1 match ended. .
“The first thought that came to my mind was, I was not celebrating, as a fan of Rohit Sharma. I know he is something, even though I rejected him. I am a big fan of Rohit Sharma,” he added.
Rohit Sharma was dismissed for just 3 off 19 balls as he tried to partially pull off a shorter good length delivery from Umar Nazir Mir. However, he got the upper hand and was easily taken by the opposition captain Paras Dogra in the middle of the game.
“Rohit Sharma is a big name” – Umar Nazir Mir
Umar further claimed that it would be a big moment for his team if they manage to beat Mumbai because of the presence of the Indian captain and international stars in the opposition.
“(Even) if we win this game, it would be a proud moment because the Indian captain is playing in the opposition. When you dismiss an international player, it is always a valued wicket,” Nazir said.
“There was help from the surface, I tried to bowl in the right areas. Rohit Sharma is a big name and his wicket was important for us and for me personally,” he noted.
Umar Nazir Mir was also part of the Jammu & Kashmir team that stunned a star-studded Mumbai team at the Wankhede Stadium a decade ago in the Ranji Trophy. Nazir was a young bowler then, but now he has grown into a much more advanced bowler.
A tough outing for Rohit Sharma
Meanwhile, it has been a rocky return to domestic cricket for Rohit. The Indian captain returned to domestic cricket after nine years but failed to regain form. In the second innings of this match, he looked impressive for a while but could not score big and was dismissed for 28 off 34 balls.
Rohit Sharma has been in poor form with the bat in the red ball format. He registered just 31 runs in three Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests at an average of just 6.20. He even had to withdraw from the last Test in Sydney due to poor form.
After India’s dismal exit to Australia, the BCCI came up with a set of rules that required international players to be available for domestic cricket whenever they were not playing for India. The rule led to a no. of Indian internationals who will play in this round of Ranji Trophy.
