Unbothered by India A snub, Mumbai’s hat-trick hero Tushar Deshpande wants to ‘chase performance, not selection’

Deshpande dismissed Arjun Azad, Shivam Bhambri and Dipender Kush off consecutive deliveries to complete Mumbai’s sixth hat-trick in First-Class cricket. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI

Tushar Deshpande’s wife Nabha reminded him on the eve of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy fixture against Chandigarh that the game would mark his 50th in First-Class cricket. A decade after making his First-Class debut, the pacer celebrated the milestone with a performance to remember, claiming a hat-trick en route to a five-wicket haul at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

Deshpande’s burst of five wickets for 17 runs in seven overs after Tea bundled Chandigarh out for 78 in reply to Mumbai’s 429, leaving the visitor following on. It was a spell that underlined his ability to hasten the batters in helpful conditions, but also offered a timely reminder of his credentials after being overlooked for India A’s upcoming tour of New Zealand despite impressing against Australia A last month.

“It’s my 50th First-Class match today, so it was just in my mind that I wanted to make it special, but it wasn’t like a hat-trick and all that,” Deshpande said.

ALSO READ | Mumbai on the brink of victory after Deshpande’s five-wicket burst

The 30-year-old, who had contributed 44 with the bat earlier in the day, said he was alert to the assistance on offer from the surface.

“There were some patches on the wicket where the ball was seaming a bit. My only focus was to bowl the maximum number of balls in the right areas, and it paid dividends,” he said.

Deshpande dismissed Arjun Azad, Shivam Bhambri and Dipender Kush off consecutive deliveries to complete Mumbai’s sixth hat-trick in First-Class cricket. He described the spell as one of the best he had bowled.

Stats box

Hat-tricks by Mumbai bowlers in First Class cricket

Jehangir Khot vs Baroda in 1943-44 at Mumbai (Brabourne)

Umesh Kulkarni vs Gujarat in 1963-64 at Anand

Abdul Ismail vs Saurashtra in 1973-74 at Mumbai (Brabourne)

Royston Dias vs Bihar in 2023-24 at Patna

Shardul Thakur vs Meghalaya in 2024-25 at Mumbai (BKC)

Tushar Deshpande vs Chandigarh 2026-27 at Mumbai (Wankhede)

His omission from the India A squad, however, has not altered his approach. “There is always motivation to play Test cricket for India, no matter if I am selected for the India A tour or not. I thought about it for a day, but I have always said that I want to chase performance, not selection,” he said.

With Mumbai needing nine more wickets to wrap up the match, Deshpande was unwilling to celebrate prematurely.

“The job is half done. We have just put them to follow on. We have to come again tomorrow, bowl in the right areas and finish the job as early as possible.”

Published on Oct 12, 2026

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