The Ranji Trophy is coming to its business end. While non-participation of star players in the premier First Class competition may have hit the headlines, the presence of multiple stars has taken the interest in a tantalising semifinal between old foes Mumbai and Tamil Nadu a notch higher.
Boost for TN
Tamil Nadu — having seamlessly hit top gear after a slow start to the season — has received a boost with the addition of B. Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar for the marquee clash. While Sai Sudharsan joined the squad on Thursday night after rehabilitation for his back at the NCA in Bengaluru, Washington arrived in the morning after being released from India’s Test squad.
The duo trained extensively at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy ground on Friday morning. At the other end of the ground, Mumbai also had a long practice session. More than the duo, Shreyas Iyer will be under the scanner over the next five days.
After having made himself unavailable for last week’s quarterfinal against Baroda and now omitted from the BCCI’s central contracts list, Shreyas will be keen on making a statement on the big occasion.
The aggressive batter had a long batting stint in the nets on Thursday, but took it easy on Friday in an optional session.
Shreyas will play for Mumbai in place of Suryansh Shedge in a direct swap. It will be interesting to see if Mumbai brings in wicketkeeper Prasad Pawar for opener Bhupen Lalwani. Hardik Tamore proved his mettle with the willow in the quarterfinal, but was ordinary behind the stumps, so Mumbai may be tempted to bolster its depth.
Besides Sai Sudharsan and Washington coming in for R. Vimal Khumar and Mohammed Ali, Tamil Nadu will also be tempted to field pacer Kuldeep Sen in place of M. Mohammed.
The surface at the Bandra-Kurla Complex facility sported a green look and unless the grass is removed, captain R. Sai Kishore — the highest wicket-taker of the season — will know that Kuldeep Sen’s pace may make a difference as much as his own skilful left-arm spin.
Squads:
Mumbai: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Bhupen Lalwani, Amogh Bhatkal, Musheer Khan, Prasad Pawar (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Aditya Dhumal, Tushar Deshpande, Mohit Avasthi, Royston Dias, Dhawal Kulkarni.
Tamil Nadu: R Sai Kishore (c), Pradosh Ranjan Paul (vc), Baba Indrajith, Narayan Jagadeesan (wk), Suresh Lokeshwar (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar, Vimal Khumar, Balasubramaniam Sachin, Washington Sundar, Sandeep Warrier, Trilok Nag, T Natarajan, Mohammed Mohammed, S Ajith Ram.
Match starts 9:30am IST.
