Mumbai announce Ranji Trophy team for first two matches; Sarfaraz Khan misses out

On Thursday, October 8, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) released the Ranji Trophy team for the season’s opening two matches. Shreyas Iyer is still in the Indian team, but Sarfaraz Khan, who was supposed to play in the three-match Test series against New Zealand, has been left out.

Iyer received backlash and almost lost his BCCI contract in the previous season for missing the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal. He has made red-ball cricket his top priority this year, participating in all three Duleep Trophy matches and making an appearance in the Irani Cup. The middle order hitter is said to be far from playing his greatest cricket, despite hitting two half-centuries in the Duleep Trophy and another in the Irani Cup’s opening innings.

For the forthcoming Ranji season, Ajinkya Rahane, who most recently guided Mumbai to Irani Cup victory, will retain his position as captain. In the Irani Cup, the veteran batter stunned the rest of India with a magnificent knock of 97 runs in the opening innings. He will be looking to maintain the momentum and challenge for a spot in the Indian squad for the next Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Because of the NZ series, Sarfaraz Khan was left out of the Mumbai team.

Sarfaraz’s service would be missed in this regard. Mumbai was able to win the Irani Cup because to the spectacular hitting performance of 222 runs from the player. Mumbai’s middle order could suffer without him because he has been a formidable force in the format. Because of a neck injury, his brother Musheer Khan will also miss the first two games. Notably, a Test series between India and New Zealand will begin on October 16.

Shardul Thakur, an all-rounder, kept his spot in the team as well. Similar to Rahane, he too has the chance to win a spot in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by impressing the national selectors.

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Young player Angkrish Raghuvanshi of the Kolkata Knight Riders has also joined the squad for the first time. The group also includes the usual suspects, Siddhessh Lad, Prithvi Shaw, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, and Juned Khan.

Mumbai Ranji Trophy squad for first two games: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Prithvi Shaw, Ayush Mhatre, Shreyas Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Siddhesh Lad, Suryansh Shedge, Hardik Tamore (wk), Sidhaant Addhatrao (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, Mohd. Juned Khan, Royston Dias.