Siddhesh Lad is all set to represent Goa in the upcoming domestic season. Lad is reportedly ready to sever his ties with Mumbai after nine seasons. He is also expected to handle the leadership duties for Goa from next season. Goa cricket team already has two Mumbai cricketers- Arjun Tendulkar and Eknath Kerkar – and with Lad the side will be stronger. Lad is currently playing club cricket in the United Kingdom.
Lad admits that at the age of 30, it was indeed a tough decision for him to leave Mumbai. At the same time he informed that his desire to play throughout the whole season forced him to take the decision.
“It was a difficult decision to leave Mumbai, but I have turned 30 now. I’m experienced and know about my game much more than I did earlier. I want to play for my domestic team the whole season, something I did not get to do for the last two seasons with Mumbai,” Lad told the Times of India.
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He added that Goa is his native place and thus representing the team will be like a second home. The 30-year-old batter will reportedly join Goa in Delhi later this month for the JP Atray trophy.
Goa Cricket Association president Suraj Lotlikar also expressed his delight to have Lad in the squad.
Lad is now the second Mumbai cricketer to seek a no objection certificate (NOC) from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). Last week, Arjun Tendulkar, son of legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, had also decided to leave Mumbai and join the Goa cricket team for the upcoming season.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Lad was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise but only managed to play a single game. He made his IPL debut back in April 2019 during a match against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He had opened the batting for Kolkata but could not succeed in doing anything significant as he could only manage to score just 15 runs.
In first-class cricket, he has so far played 61 matches and scored 4058 runs at an average of 40.58. He has eight centuries and 26 half centuries to his name in first-class cricket.
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