Kerala rope in Abdulla, Thakkar for upcoming Ranji season

Mumbai's loss, these days, is turning into Kerala's gain. First, the IDBI Bowling Foundation shifted its scheme out of the city to `God's own Country,' and now, two experienced players, who featured in Mumbai's 41st Ranji Trophy triumph last year, have decided to head down south in the forthcoming season.

Left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla and opener Bhavin Thakkar will turn out for Kerala, a team which plays in the 'C' group of the Ranji Trophy and is known more for its exploits in the shorter format. Abdulla's unexpected exit is a blow in the spin and all-rounders' department for the Ranji giants. Both made it clear that they were moving to Kerala in search of more opportunity.

"I'm thankful that I got a chance to play for Mumbai for almost a decade, but I want to play for India `A,' and then eventually India and that can't happen if I play four-five games in a season. I need to play more, which I'll get playing for Kerala," Abdulla told TOI on Thursday (September 1).

"Despite doing well in the pre-season tournaments, I was ignored for the first five games. After I was recalled in the middle of the season, I took 20 wickets in six matches, and that tally could've been much more if I was played more," the 27-year-old rued.

"I don't want anyone to feel bad about this. I'm leaving Mumbai to get more chances to play, and not leaving cricket," he added.

Abdulla, who made his debut for Mumbai in 2007, has taken 152 wickets in 50 First-Class games at 29.18, including six five-wicket hauls. The 26-year-old is handy with the bat too - he has scored 1149 runs at 27.33, with an unbeaten 150 being his highest score. He took 14 wickets in the five Ranji games at 24.35 last season, including a match haul of eight for 85 in the quarters against Jharkhand.

"His exit is a bit surprising, but then Mumbai players get good money and opportunity to play for other states," summed a MCA official.

Thakkar, who has played for Himachal Pradesh in the past, was recalled to the Mumbai team for the Ranji semis and final games last year, and managed scores of 30, 32 and 6. "I wasn't even included in the probables this year for the offseason camp," he said.

"Our performance in the Twenty20 and the One-Day competitions has been good, but we're missing out on qualifying for the knockouts in the Ranji. We hope that the experience and cricketing acumen of this Mumbai duo, who were recommended to us by Abey Kuruvilla (former India seamer) and Makarand Waingankar (veteran journalist and Director, Cricket Operations, Excellence in Cricket), will help our boys do better in the Ranji," Kerala Cricket Asociation (KCA) president TC Mathews told TOI from Krishnagiri, Wayanad, where the bowling foundation was launched on Thursday.