Irani Cup 2024: Mumbai vs Rest of India Match Preview

Mumbai (MUM) will take on the Rest of India (ROI) in the Irani Cup 2024 at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, starting on Tuesday, October 1.

The Ranji Trophy champions - Mumbai - will want to win their 15th Irani Cup title by beating a strong Rest of India side. Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Rest of India will come into this contest as the favourites as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has assembled a strong squad for them. ROI have won the competition on 30 occasions since its inception in the 1959-60 domestic season.

Apart from Gaikwad, the Rest of India squad comprises consistent performers in domestic cricket like Devdutt Padikkal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ricky Bhui, and Mukesh Kumar among others. Bhui finished as the highest run-getter in the Duleep Trophy after amassing 359 runs from six innings at an average of 71.80.

Ishan Kishan has been picked in the squad after slamming a belligerent century in the Duleep Trophy earlier this month. However, he will be competing with Dhruv Jurel for a spot in the side. Sai Sudharsan is going to be another talented player to keep an eye on. Baroda batter Shashwat Rawat had a fine Duleep Trophy campaign as he scored 256 runs from four innings at an average of 85.33. He will look to continue his purple patch.

On the bowling front, the onus will be on Yash Dayal, who was picked in India's squad for the two Test matches against Bangladesh. However, the left-arm pacer didn't get a game. He played one game in the Duleep Trophy and bagged four wickets. He is in line to play in the Irani Cup as he has been released by BCCI from India's Test squad in Kanpur. Mukesh, meanwhile, would look to impress the national selectors and earn his comeback to the Indian team. The Bengal speedster was the second-highest wicket-taker in the Duleep Trophy, bagging 15 wickets from three matches at 28.60. Prasidh Krishna and Khaleel Ahmed are two other pacers to look out for in the side.

In the spin-bowling department, Manav Suthar could play as the all-rounder after scoring a half-century and picking up 10 wickets in the Duleep Trophy. There is also the experienced Saransh Jain in the mix and it would be interesting to see which spin-bowling all-rounder Rest of India pick in their side. Meanwhile, Rahul Chahar is the only frontline spinner in the side. He took nine wickets at 18.67 from two games in the Duleep Trophy.

Coming to Mumbai, they won their 42nd Ranji Trophy title last season. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side has a star-studded line-up with the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer being in the setup. Shaw is coming from a decent stint in England as he played white-ball cricket for Northamptonshire. Meanwhile, Iyer will look to stamp his authority in the red-ball format after scoring just 154 runs from six innings in the Duleep Trophy.

Shams Mulani will look to continue his good all-round form from the Duleep Trophy as he scored 141 runs from three innings and bagged seven wickets from 67.1 overs in the historic red-ball competition. Another spin-bowling all-rounder who did well for his team in the Duleep Trophy was Tanush Kotian. The 25-year-old picked up 10 wickets at 22 and scored 121 runs at 30.25.

Sarfaraz Khan, who was selected for the Test series against Bangladesh, has also been released from the squad to take part in the Irani Cup. The 26-year-old will look to play well and keep himself in contention for selection to the national team as India are set to play a three-match Test series against New Zealand in October-November. However, his brother will miss this clash after encountering a horrific car accident.

Also Read: Musheer Khan to miss Irani Cup, Ranji Trophy games post accident

Mumbai will miss the services of Dhawal Kulkarni, who retired after helping his team win the Ranji Trophy title last season. Tushar Deshpande isn't on the side as well. The right-arm pacer is set to undergo ankle surgery. Mumbai will rely on the experienced Shardul Thakur to work some magic, especially with the new ball.

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