Mumbai tweaker in a tangle

Ankeet Chavan, who made his debut for Mumbai in the 2008-09 domestic season, has been viewed in Mumbai cricketing circles as a dependable left-arm orthodox spinner and a handy lower-order batsman.

Chavan played a massive role in Mumbai’s 40th Ranji Trophy title triumph earlier this year, becoming their highest wicket-taker of the season.

The performane prompted the Mumbai bigwigs to rate him as the team’s number one spinner ahead of the experienced Iqbal Abdulla.

The 27-year-old player’s champagne moment came when he grabbed nine wickets against Punjab in a Group A game at the Wankhede stadium.

Mumbai were staring at the wrong end of the barrel after conceding a sizeable first innings lead, but Chavan’s 9 for 23 earned Mumbai a draw, and Punjab skipper Harbhajan Singh was quite effusive in his praise of the Mumbai lad.

After his debut, Chavan didn’t get too many chances to represent Mumbai in Ranji Trophy cricket, he continued to play for the team in domestic one-day and T20 tournaments. He was impressive in many outings and Rajasthan Royals signed him up in 2011 from Mumbai Indians.