The Mumbai Ranji Trophy squad has seen a late change ahead of their upcoming match against Himachal Pradesh, which is slated to get underway from November 8 at the BKC Ground. Young opening batter Ayush Mhatre, who plays for CSK in IPL, has been named as the replacement for regular opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Ayush Mhatre replaces Yashasvi Jaiswal in Mumbai Ranji squad
This change was necessitated by Jaiswal's international commitments, as he has been released from the Mumbai squad after being selected for the senior India team.
Jaiswal's impressive domestic form, which included scores of 67 and 156 in Mumbai’s recent drawn game against Rajasthan in Jaipur, earned him a call-up to the national side for the two-Test series against South Africa, commencing on November 14 in Kolkata. Meanwhile, the 42-time champion Mumbai team is looking to capitalise on their second home game of the season. So far this season, the squad has registered one victory and secured two draws, and they will be aiming for a crucial win to strengthen their position in the tournament.
Mumbai's squad
Shardul Thakur (c), Ayush Mhatre, Aakash Anand (wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Siddhesh Lad, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Akash Parkar, Shams Mulani, Tushar Deshpande, Sylvester D’Souza, Hardik Tamore (wk), Irfan Umair, Akhil Herwadkar, Himanshu Singh, Kartik Mishra, Sairaj Patil
Jaiswal shone bright with a sensational 156 off 174 balls in the second innings of Mumbai's Group D fixture against Rajasthan. Jaiswal's innings, featuring 18 boundaries and one six, proved to be a batting masterclass on the docile Sawai Mansingh Stadium surface. Despite his individual brilliance, the match ultimately ended in a draw, meaning Mumbai had to be content with a solitary point from the fixture.
The large crowd that turned up for the match was treated to a formidable opening partnership between Jaiswal and Musheer Khan (63 off 115 balls), as the duo added 149 runs together. While Rajasthan's bowlers tried hard to break the momentum, Jaiswal backed his natural attacking game, contrasting with a more cautious Musheer who took his time before reaching his fifty. The partnership was eventually broken when seamer Aniket Choudhary had Musheer caught behind. Jaiswal remained unperturbed, continuing to entertain the crowd with a flurry of boundaries. Although it seemed another big partnership was developing with Ajinkya Rahane, the veteran failed to convert his start, mistiming a delivery from Kookna Ajay Singh to be stumped.
Despite the fall of Rahane, Jaiswal kept his composure to ensure there were no further slip-ups, securing his fine 150 before also falling to Kookna. With a draw largely inevitable, the teams mutually agreed to call off the day's play shortly before tea, with Mumbai finishing at 269 for 3. Rajasthan's decision to delay their declaration drew public criticism, but captain Mahipal Lomror defended the strategy, explaining that with the pitch offering virtually nothing to the bowlers, they preferred not to bat again in the challenging fourth innings.