Yashasvi Jaiswal was not considered for selection for Mumbai’s last Ranji Trophy league match against Delhi because the Indian opener has been “picking and choosing” the games he wants to play and often remained “non-responsive” ahead of selection meetings, a Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) official told PTI.

Jaiswal is neither part of India’s T20I squad currently playing a five-match series against New Zealand, nor has he been in contention for next month’s T20 World Cup.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has issued a strict directive to India players to appear in domestic cricket when not on national duty. However, the MCA official revealed that Jaiswal has not responded to their approaches regarding his availability for several group-stage matches.

“It is a fact that he was non-responsive before selection for the last match (against Hyderabad) as well, and it clearly feels like he is picking and choosing matches,” the senior MCA official said on Sunday.

“We had reached out to him before selecting the team for the previous game and even for the upcoming one, but we did not get any response. So, he was not considered for selection for the home match against Delhi,” the official added.

Jaiswal made only one appearance in the Ranji Trophy this season, scoring 67 and 156 in a drawn match against Rajasthan in Jaipur.

The left-hander did play three matches each in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20) and the Vijay Hazare Trophy (50-over) this season.

Mumbai will continue under the captaincy of Siddhesh Lad as Shardul Thakur remains sidelined due to injury. Mumbai’s match against Delhi will begin on January 29 at the BKC Ground.

The Wankhede Stadium is set to host India’s first T20 World Cup match against the USA on February 7, necessitating a venue change for the Ranji match.

Mumbai currently sits atop the Elite Group D points table with four wins and two draws from six matches, after a nine-wicket victory over Hyderabad on Sunday.

Mumbai Squad vs Delhi:

Siddhesh Lad (c), Musheer Khan, Akhil Herwadkar, Suved Parkar, Sarfaraz Khan, Aakash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Suryansh Shedge, Sairaj Patil, Shams Mulani, Himanshu Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Mohit Avasthi, Onkar Tarmale, Sylvester D’Souza