"Who's making these decisions?" Irfan Pathan raises concern after Baroda fails to qualify for Ranji knockouts

New Delhi [India], February 2 (ANI): Irfan Pathan expressed concern about his former side, Bardoa's struggle in the Ranji Trophy after another disappointing end to the campaign.

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Baroda had fate in their own hands in the final round of the Ranji Trophy group stage. Baroda needed a victory against Elite A table-toppers Jammu and Kashmir to confirm their berth in the quarter-finals.

J&K outplayed Barokda in all facets of the game to cruise to a comfortable yet emphatic 182-run victory. After conceding a defeat, Baroda's Ranji Trophy campaign yet again ended in the group stage.

After another sad end to Baroda's campaign, Irfan took to X to question decision-making during their campaign and the lack of runs from the batters.

"Congrats to Jammu & Kashmir for making the Ranji knockouts! While I'm happy for them, it's tough to see Baroda cricket struggling--only one knockout appearance in the last 5-6 years. This season, no batsman even makes the top 30 run-scorers nationally. To make matters worse, the critical No. 4 spot in red-ball cricket has been filled by bowlers like Atish Seth and Mahesh Pethia in do-or-die matches. Bowlers who can bat, but No. 4 requires a specialist. Who's making these decisions?" Irfan wrote on X.

After J&K ousted Baroda comprehensively, Mumbai leapfrogged the latter to move to the second spot and keep their chances of defending the title alive.

Along with J&K and Mumbai, the other teams to qualify for the final eight include Vidarbha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Haryana, Gujarat and Saurashtra.

Overall, this was the third instance of J&K reaching the quarter-final stage and the first time in five years. J&K last featured in the quarter-finals in the 2019-20 season. Just like J&K, Kerala also qualified for the quarter-finals for the third time and the first in six years. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)