MUMBAI: Under-fire due to his poor form of late, Indian captain Rohit Sharma is set to train with the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team from Tuesday, according to a reliable source.
Mumbai play their first game of the second leg of the Ranji Trophy against Jammu & Kashmir at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s ground in BKC from January 23. There is an informal advisory from the BCCI to the Team India players to turn out for their state in the Ranji Trophy, unless they are on national duty or injured.
Rohit, who opted out of the final Test, managed to score just 31 runs in three Tests in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia
“Rohit, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (who was recently named as the Punjab Kings captain) and Shardul Thakur will train with the Mumbai team at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, and then at the BKC on Wednesday and Thursday. Rohit has told the MCA that he will come for practice. At the moment, there are all indications that he’s keen to play the match versus J&K,” a source told TOI.
Injured Sarfaraz unlikely to play Mumbai’s crucial Ranji tie vs J&K
Meanwhile, in what will be a big blow for Mumbai, TOI has learnt that India’s middle-order Test batter Sarfaraz Khan has sustained a minor hairline fracture in the ribs while being with the Indian team in Australia during the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar series, and is thus unlikely to turn out for the defending champions’ crucial Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir.
Sarfaraz didn’t get an opportunity to play in the 2024-25 BGT. “He suffered the injury while fielding during practice just a couple of days before the Indian team left Australia. After coming back to India, a scan showed that he had sustained a minor rib fracture, and he was advised a three-week complete rest by the doctor. He is unlikely to play for Mumbai in their Ranji match against J&K. In fact, he could miss the entire league stage of the tournament, and be only fit by the knockouts,” a source told TOI.
A prolific batter in domestic cricket, Sarfaraz has scored 4953 runs in 54 first-class matches@65.61, with 16 hundreds and 14 fifties. In the last match that he played for Mumbai, the Irani Cup clash against Rest of India, Sarfaraz slammed an unbeaten 222 to shape Mumbai’s first win in the Irani Cup in 27 years.
Mumbai, though, will be bolstered by the return of allrounder Shivam Dube, who has been axed from India’s T20I team for the upcoming five-match series against England at home.
Pacer Deshpande’s return delayed due to injury
In another blow for Mumbai, it’s learnt that Mumbai’s experienced India pacer Tushar Deshpande, who underwent an ankle operation on September 30 last year in London, will not be available for a major part of the second half of the Ranji Trophy, which is set to begin from Jan 23.
It means that Deshpande will not be available for Mumbai’s match against Jammu & Kashmir from Jan 23. In Deshpande’s absence, Mumbai have been struggling badly in the bowling department, with allrounder Shardul Thakur, who too underwent an ankle surgery last year, still not back to his best.
“Tushar is recuperating at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. He will take some more time to recover. Tentatively, he is slated to return to action in mid-February, in time for the Ranji Trophy semifinals. So, if Mumbai make it to the semifinals, Deshpande will be available from then,” a source told this paper.
After an impressive outing in IPL 2024 for the Chennai Super Kings, the 29-year-old fast bowler has missed all the domestic tournaments this season due to his ankle injury.
Deshpande played a key role in Mumbai’s 43rd title-winning Ranji Trophy campaign in March, claiming 15 wickets in five matches, and played a couple of T20Is (took two wickets@27.50) for India during the Zimbabwe tour in July, just after the T20 World Cup.
Deshpande will play for the Rajasthan Royals, who bought him for Rs 6.50 crores, in IPL 2025 from March 14.
