MUMBAI: Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, one of the few bright spots of India’s recent tour of Australia, will turn out for Mumbai in their first match of the second leg of the Ranji Trophy against Jammu & Kashmir from January 23.
“He has been asked to report for Mumbai practice from tomorrow. He is available for the match on January 23, and he will be picked for that game,” a source in the Mumbai Cricket Association told TOI.
The Mumbai selectors, led by Sanjay Patil, will pick the team soon for the J&K fixture.
Jaiswal scored 391 runs in five Tests at an average of 43.44 in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with one century and two half-centuries.
Interestingly, as per sources in the BCCI, Jaiswal has been “rested” from India’s five-match T20 home series against England, which begins from Jan 22 in Kolkata, so that he remains fit and fresh for the ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy thereafter.
Rohit takes part in 45-min ‘match simulation’ at Mumbai Ranji team practice
Searching desperately for form ahead of the Champions Trophy, Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma practised for around 45 minutes with the Mumbai team at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday morning, before attending a promotional event. Also present in the practice session were senior batters Ajinkya Rahane & Shreyas Iyer, and allrounder Shardul Thakur.
“He batted for almost 45 minutes on the centre wicket in a match simulation environment. He started with throwdowns, followed by some batting in match simulation, during which he faced Mumbai’s fast bowlers and spinners. However, he has still not conveyed to the Mumbai Cricket Association whether he will play in Mumbai’s (sixth round) Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir on Jan 23, as he’s still double-minded about playing the Ranji match. That’s a red-ball game, and the Champions Trophy in Feb, where he’s likely to lead India, will be a white-ball, limited overs event,” a source told TOI.
Rohit, who expressed his desire to train with the Mumbai team to head coach Omkar Salvi, last played for Mumbai way back in a Ranji Trophy match in 2015 against Uttar Pradesh.
The BCCI had advised all the players to turn out for their teams in the forthcoming rounds of the Ranji Trophy unless they are unfit or on national duty. Any exceptions will have to be given a green signal by head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
The Mumbai team is supposed to practice at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s ground in BKC for the next two days. Rohit could turn up for both these sessions,” a source said.
After India lost the BGT series 1-3 to Australia, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir had emphasised the importance of the Indian cricketers playing in domestic cricket and said that he would want everyone to play domestic cricket.
“I would always like everyone to play domestic cricket. That is how much importance domestic cricket needs to be given. Not only one game but if they are available and have the commitment to play red-ball cricket, everyone should play domestic cricket. It’s as simple as it can get. If you don’t give importance to domestic cricket, you will never get the desired players that you want in Test cricket,” Gambhir had said in a press conference after India’s series defeat.
The 37-year-old has been in the midst of a horror run with the bat, spread across the home Test series against New Zealand, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. Rohit managed to score just 31 runs in three Tests at an average of 6.20 in Australia, and opted out of the final Test in Sydney. Across the four Tests Down Under, his scores were 3,9, 10, 3, and 6.
On Saturday, Rohit took part in a review meeting here to assess Team India’s performance in Australia, which was also attended by head coach Gautam Gambhir and BCCI’s new secretary Devajit Saikia.
