Kamal Ghorui
MUMBAI: India’s Test vice-captain Rishabh Pant, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and allrounder Shardul Thakur will all miss the Mumbai versus Delhi Ranji Trophy match – the last league match of the tournament – at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s BKC facility from January 29 to February 1 due to injuries and illness, TOI has learnt.Pant has been out of action due to a side strain, which he sustained before the first ODI against New Zealand in Baroda on January 11. “He has been undergoing rehab at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence for the last week to 10 days,” a source said. In his absence, Ayush Badoni has been captaining the Delhi team.
Jaiswal underwent endoscopy recently after having been troubled by stomach pain. “It’s a problem which has persisted with him since he was hospitalised after Mumbai’s last game in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in Pune, where he was afflicted by a severe bout of food poisoning,” a source informed.Thakur suffered a calf injury during the league stage of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and has been recuperating since then.“Jaiswal, Thakur and Kotian will be considered after they provide their fitness report to the Mumbai Cricket Association,” Mumbai chief selector Sanjay Patil told TOI on Sunday.With 30 points in six matches, which includes four outright wins, Mumbai qualified for the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals in style on Sunday, beating Hyderabad by nine wickets despite being severely depleted. Complimenting Mumbai’s youngsters for their fine show so far, Patil said, “We’ve chosen the best team, with a good combination of youngsters and senior players. Without the big names, our team has been performing brilliantly. I’m really happy with the performance of our youngsters.” “There are two changes in the side for the match versus Delhi. Shams Mulani (fit-again after missing the Hyderabad clash due to urine issues) replaces Atharva Ankolekar (injured), while DSuryansh Shedge has replaced Aakash Parkar. We’ve recalled Shedge because he has performed consistently well for the Mumbai Under-23 team (scored a century against Bengal in the Col CK Nayudu Trophy),” he added.Jaiswal and Thakur, who missed the last match against Hyderabad, could be back in action when Mumbai play in the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals from Feb 6-10. Off-spinning allrounder Tanush Kotian has still not recovered from his hand injury. Mumbai squad: Siddhesh Lad (captain), Musheer Khan, Sairaj Patil, Akhil Herwadkar, Hardik Tampore (WK), Suved Parkar, Sarfaraz Khan, Aakash Anand (WK), Suryansh Shedge, Shams Mulani, Tushar Deshpande, Himanshu Singh, Mohit Avasthi, Omkar Tarmale, Sylvester D’Souza.
