Mumbai has been lackluster in the two matches they have played in this year’s Ranji Trophy; they lost their first encounter to Baroda, and won by a solitary wicket against Maharashtra on Monday. Now, the selectors have come up with drastic measures. For the upcoming tie against Tripura, the management has decided to axe woefully out of form, Prithvi Shaw, who has returned with scores of 7 & 12, and 1 & 39.
The tie against Tripura is to be played in Agartala from October 26. But MCA secretary maintained, that Shaw has been rested only. “He has been given a break. The selectors and the coach have had a discussion with him and have briefed him about areas to work on, including fitness,” Abhay Hadap, the Mumbai Cricket Association secretary, told The Hindu.
Meanwhile, the team has called up veteran Akhil Herwadkar, who last played for Mumbai in November 2018. He could be fighting for the opener’s slot with Angkrish Raghuvanshi. On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav and Tanush Kotian have also not been included in the squad.
While Surya will miss the tie due to personal commitment, Tanush will be part of the India A squad for the Australia series. For him, left-arm spinner Karsh Kothari has been called to the team. For the record, Surya has played for Mumbai once this season, and only scored 7 runs.
Mumbai Squad for Tripura Tie: Ajinkya Rahane (Capt.), Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Akhil Herwadkar, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad, Suryansh Shedge, Hardik Tamore (wk), Sidhaant Addhatrao (wk), Shams Mulani, Karsh Kothari, Himanshu Singh, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, Juned Khan and Royston Dias.