Srinagar, Jan 20: India’s Test & ODI captain Rohit Sharma will play for Mumbai in their upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir under veteran batsman Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy.
On Monday, the Mumbai selectors, led by Sanjay Patil, announced a 17-member star-studded Mumbai squad for the key match, which will be played at the MCA Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy in BKC from January 23.
While Rohit will play his first Ranji Trophy match in almost a decade- the 37-year-old last played in the tournament against Uttar Pradesh in 2015- the defending champions’ formidable-looking squad also includes talented opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, and allrounders Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur.
Searching for form after a horrendous run in the last two series against New Zealand and Australia, Rohit is likely to open the innings with Jaiswal, who was the top run-getter with 391 runs in five Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia recently.
“It is a matter of pride for us that the Indian ODI and Test captain will turn out for Mumbai in this match. Rohit’s presence in the Mumbai dressing room will offer a tremendous, invaluable experience to a youngster like Ayush Mhatre. Just imagine the impact on the opposition once they see so many India players playing this match for Mumbai. I am delighted at these players’ commitment towards the Mumbai team,” Mumbai chief selector Sanjay Patil told TOI.
While the selectors have replaced Rahane with Shreyas Iyer as the Mumbai white-ball captain, they have chosen to retain faith in Rahane, under whom Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy in March, as the Ranji skipper.
With Rohit and Jaiswal turning out for this match, the selectors could not accommodate young opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi. Left-arm spinning allrounder Shams Mulani, who was dropped from the Mumbai squads for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 knockouts and Vijay Hazare Trophy, has been retained in the Ranji squad.
Placed second with 22 points in five matches, Mumbai need to beat J&K, who are perched above them right now with 23 points in five matches after the first phase. This will be the first match of the second leg of the Ranji Trophy. Ironically, J&K had beaten Mumbai the last time they played the domestic giants in Mumbai-almost a decade back in the 2014-15 season.
The Squad: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ayush Mhatre, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad, Shivam Dube, Hardik Tamore (wk), Akash Anand (wk), Tanush Kotian, Shams Mulani, Himanshu Singh, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Awasthi, Sylvester D’souza, Royston Dias, Karsh Kothari.
