MUMBAI: The ultimate farewell tribute to Mumbai's veteran seamer Dhawal Kulkarni, who signed off from the game in style by playing a key role (3-15 & 1-38 in the final) in Mumbai's 42nd Ranji Trophy title win, came from Indian captain Rohit Sharma on Thursday.
"Mumbaicha yodha (Mumbai's warrior). Well done on a fantastic career," posted Rohit on Instagram. Indeed, Kulkarni, who finished with 285 wickets in 96 First-Class matches, was a battle-hardened warrior, who produced his best for Mumbai when the stage was bigger and the stakes were higher. Some of Kulkarni's best performances came for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy finals. He was a part of six and played a stellar role in winning five out of them.
In the 2008-09 final at Hyderabad against Uttar Pradesh, he took 5-76 in the second innings to star in Mumbai's 243-run win. In the 2009-10 final against Karnataka at Mysore, he scored 87 in the second innings, rescuing Mumbai from 51-5, besides taking 2-52 & 3-80 as Mumbai won by six runs. In the 2012-13 final against Saurashtra on a seaming track at the Wankhede Stadium, he took 9-56 (4-24 & 5-32) to bowl Mumbai to an emphatic innings and 125-run victory.
In 2015-16 final against Saurashtra in Pune, he took 5-42 & 2-34 to bowl Mumbai to their 41st Ranji title. In the only final that he lost, against Madhya Pradesh at Bangalore in 2022, Kulkarni conceded 0-53 & 1-7. "It was always about the hard work (I) put in the off-season. The goal when you play domestic cricket is to win the Ranji. Whenever I've played for Mumbai, I wanted the 'Lion' to roar. When we would enter the knockouts, I had it always in my mind that I would bring my 'A' game to the table and help my team win," an emotional Kulkarni said.
Which of the six Ranji titles does he cherish the most? "My first Ranji title win, the one in Mysore, and this one, since it was my last game," he replied.
Those who saw the 35-yearold bowl over the years felt that he should've played more than just the 12 ODIs and two T20Is. "What is gone is gone. I look at the future, rather than what has happened in the past. I know I should have played more cricket for the Indian team. I've never cribbed about it. I never pointed my finger at anyone. That's how I am, that's my personality. I've always taken that as a challenge. I've always tried to improve not by looking at others. Each and every day that I stepped on the field, I wanted to do better," he said.
