Ajinkya Rahane and Prithvi Shaw to play for Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy clash against Karnataka

In what comes as a massive boost for Mumbai, Indian Test specialist batsman Ajinkya Rahane and young batting sensation Prithvi Shaw have confirmed their availability for the upcoming Ranji Trophy game against Karnataka. The two players were named in the 15-man squad announced by Mumbai Cricket Association on its website on Monday. The fixture between Mumbai and Karnataka will be played at the Bandra Kurla Complex from January 3 onwards.

Previously, Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane have played against Baroda and Railways. The young prodigy Shaw was the talking point of the match against Baroda where he smashed a scintillating double century but failed to turn up the heat against Railways at Wankhede Stadium. The game against Karnataka could possibly be the last game Prithvi plays for now as he would fly to New Zealand with India A squad.

Ajinkya Rahane will be playing consecutive Ranji games after a long time

On the other hand, Ajinkya Rahane ran through a shocking spell with the bat against Railways. The specialist batsman will be looking forward to channelising his aggression in the right way when he plays against heavyweights Karnataka. It should be noted that Ajinkya Rahane, who has played 63 Tests (105 innings) for India, will be playing back-to-back Ranji games after quite a long time.

Talking about Mumbai’s recent form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament, they had won the game against Baroda and tasted a bitter defeat against Railways as they lost by 10 wickets. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube, who came under scrutiny for not turning up for the last Ranji games, have been not named in Mumbai squad as they are away on national duties.

Fast bowler Shardul Thakur, who is also away on national duty, has not named in the squad too. Suryakumar Yadav who is still waiting for his turn to play for India despite his batting exploits of late will be leading his side against Karnataka. Young batting talent Sarfaraz Khan also gets an opportunity to prove himself as he has been included in the squad.

Mumbai squad: Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Aditya Tare (Vice Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, Shubham Ranjane, Akash Parkar, Siddhesh Lad, Shams Mulani, Vinayak Bhoir, Shashank Attarde, Royston Dias, Tushar Deshpande, Deepak Shetty and Eknath Kerkar.

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