Mumbai drop Abhishek Nayar from the squad for the game against Tripura

Mumbai has decided to leave out the experienced all-rounder Abhishek Nayar for their last league game against Tripura in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. The league stage of the tournament is coming to an end as the teams are looking to win every game to qualify for the knockouts. Mumbai hasn’t been at their best so far this season and has won only a solitary game. They have played out as many a four draws out of the five games. However, they have taken a big decision to leave out Nayar in the must-win game.

Abhishek Nayar would’ve played his 100th first-class game if he had not been left out by the team management for the next game. He has been out of form so far in the competition having scored only 130 runs in nine innings at an average of 18.57. But he has fared decently with the ball and has scalped 8 wickets in the process. He also played a crucial role in avoiding a defeat against Baroda with a dogged stay at the crease for 108 deliveries.

Mumbai yet to qualify for knockouts

Vijay Gohil, the left-arm spinner, returned to the squad after he was dropped for the last game and young Karsh Kothari made his first-class debut. The reserve opener Aditya Dhumal has also been left out of the team. The remaining squad looks settled though as they would love to win and qualify for the quarterfinals.

Group C is interestingly poised as there is a five-way battle going on between the teams for the top two spots. Mumbai is currently placed at the third position with 14 points behind Andhra and Madhya Pradesh. However, they would require an outright victory to progress and not depending on other results. But if they manage to draw with a first innings lead against Tripura, then they have to pray that MP doesn’t win their game against Odisha.

Updated Mumbai squad: Aditya Tare (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Jay Bista, Prithvi Shaw, Siddhesh Lad, Shreyas Iyer, Akash Parkar, Karsh Kothari, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shardul Thakur, Minad Manjrekar, Vijay Gohil, Akhil Herwadkar, Sufiyan Shaikh.