Salil Ankola Appointed As Mumbai's Chief Selector

Former India pacer, Salil Ankola was announced as Mumbai’s new chief selector for the upcoming domestic season. The delayed and curtailed season will commence with the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 (SMAT) which is India’s premier T20 domestic tournament. The SMAT is scheduled for January 10th to 31st.

Born in Sholapur, Maharashtra Salil Ankola played a solitary Test match and 20 ODIs for India in which he took 2 and 13 wickets, respectively. In his 54 matches domestic career, the seamer picked 181 wickets with best figures of 6/47.

Besides, Salil Ankola retired early at the age of just 28 and tried his hands in acting, he has appeared in several TV serials and films.

A special committee appointed Salil Ankola

The 52-year-old was appointed by the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) of the Mumbai Cricket Association(MCA). Along with Ankola Sanjay Patil, Ravindra Thaker, Zulfiqar Parkar, and Ravi Kulkarni were named in the selection committee. The Cricket Improvement Committee consists of Lalchand Rajput (Chairman), Rajeev Kulkarni, and Sameer Dighe.

“Cricket Improvement Committee of MCA has made the following appointments for the season 2020-21 (ending 31st March 2021): Senior Selection Committee: Salil Ankola – Chairman, Sanjay Patil, Ravindra Thaker, Zulfiqar Parkar and Ravi Kulkarni,” MCA said in a statement.

Motera Stadium to host Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy knockouts

The newly built Sardar Patel Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy knockouts including the final. Bangalore, Kolkata, Vadodara, Indore, and Mumbai are the venues for the five Elite groups, while the plate group games are slated to be played in Chennai.

All players and support staff will undergo three rounds of COVID-19 tests on January 2, 4, and 6 and will stay in the bio-secure environment throughout the course of the tournament. Karnataka is the defending champions.

Motera, the largest cricket stadium in the world with a capacity of 110,000 will host the four quarterfinals on January 26 and 27, the semifinals on January 29, and the final of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 is scheduled for January 31st. The restructured Motera stadium will also host England for two Tests and five T20Is.

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