Will he? Won’t he? All the speculations regarding Shreyas Iyer, who was dubbed as a rebel after ignoring BCCI’s instruction, is now over. Shreyas Iyer will play Ranji Trophy three days after he was axed from BCCI central contract list. He will be the sole focus in a high voltage Mumbai vs TN Ranji Trophy semifinal at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC in Mumbai on Saturday, March 2.
Shreyas Iyer returns
In an ideal match, all the focus should have been on Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane. With just 115 runs in the bank in Ranji Trophy 2024, he is under pressure. He has been dropped from the BCCI central contract and an out of form Rahane could be playing his last Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai.
However, the focus will not be on him. All the fans will be looking at Shreyas Iyer whether he can respond to BCCI’s snub.
Some might believe Shreyas Iyer has been hard done by. He did play Ranji Trophy before joining India squad for IND vs ENG Test. And he only missed the Ranji quarterfinals because he felt back pain even though National Cricket Academy declared him fit.
However, despite following BCCI’s guidelines, he was dropped from the Central contract along with Ishan Kishan. Now, the al format player will aim to hit back with the willow against Tamil Nadu.
“He is an experienced player, we all know that. His contribution to Mumbai has been amazing. Whenever he stands up for Mumbai, he has done really well, so I don’t think he needs any encouragement or any advice. We are thrilled to have him in our team for the semifinal,” Ajinkya Rahane said about Shreyas Iyer ahead of Mumbai vs TN Rani Trophy semifinals.
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Mumbai combination conundrum
Beyond Shreyas Iyer, Mumbai also have combination dilemma. Musheer Khan with his maiden First Class double will keep his place. But with Iyer coming back, Mumbai will have to drop someone. And it looks like Bhupen Lalwani will have to make way.
Despite numerous challenges, Mumbai have delivered with someone or the other standing up against the opponents. Against a strong Tamil Nadu side, Rahane will expect nothing less.
Tamil Nadu aims to end drought
Despite delivering in white-ball domestic tournaments, TN are without a Ranji Trophy title for the last three decades. Their last Ranji title came in 1987.
But this time, they might be the favourites. TN blew away defending champions Saurashtra by an innings and 33 runs.
With Sai Sudharshan also fully fit, TN will have the edge.
Mumbai vs TN Live Streaming
Mumbai vs Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy 2nd semifinal will be live-streamed on JioCinema. The live telecast is on Sports18.
Mumbai vs TN Squads
Mumbai: Prithvi Shaw, Bhupen Lalwani, Musheer Khan, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Shams Mulani, Suryansh Shedge, Hardik Tamore(w), Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotian, Mohit Avasthi, Tushar Deshpande, Dhawal Kulkarni, Royston Dias, Jay Gokul Bista, Shivam Dube, Atharva Ankolekar, Prasad Pawar, Amogh Bhatkal, Suved Parkar, Sylvester DSouza
Tamil Nadu: Vimal Khumar, N Jagadeesan(w), Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore(c), Pradosh Paul, Baba Indrajith, Vijay Shankar, Boopathi Kumar, Washington Sundar, Mohamed Ali, M Mohammed, S Ajith Ram, Sandeep Warrier, T Natarajan, Trilok Nag, Suresh Lokeshwar, RS Mokit Hariharan, Sai Sudharsan, Kuldeep Sen, Ajay Krishna, B Sachin
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