Shreyas Iyer included in Mumbai squad for Ranji Trophy semifinal

When Shreyas had made himself unavailable for the quarterfinal citing fitness concerns, it had led to a furore over whether the batter was pacing himself up for the IPL at the cost of First-Class cricket.

After being excluded from India’s Test squad midway through the ongoing series against England, Ranji Trophy knockouts was being considered as an ideal opportunity for Shreyas to make a strong case for a Test recall. | Photo Credit: AP

Shreyas Iyer has been included in Mumbai’s squad for the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Tamil Nadu, to be played at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy ground from Saturday.

Shreyas will replace Suryansh Shedge, who threw his wicket away in both the innings in the quarterfinal, in the squad of 16 that was finalised by Mumbai’s selection committee, chaired by former India pacer Raju Kulkarni.

When Shreyas had made himself unavailable for the quarterfinal citing fitness concerns, it had led to a furore over whether the batter was pacing himself up for the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the cost of First-Class cricket.

After being excluded from India’s Test squad midway through the ongoing series against England, the Ranji Trophy knockouts were being considered as an ideal opportunity for Shreyas to make a strong case for a Test recall.

The Mumbai camp will be hoping that Shreyas will not only achieve his personal objective but also bolster a wobbly middle-order with a strong showing in the semifinals.

THE SQUAD

Ajinkya Rahane (c.), Prithvi Shaw, Bhupen Lalwani, Musheer Khan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Tamore (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Mohit Avasthi, Amogh Bhatkar, Prasad Pawar (wk), Aditya Dhumal, Royston Dias, Dhawal Kulkarni.