Mumbai face off Baroda in their Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign opener.
Having gone through an indifferent five-match Test series in England, Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane may play for Mumbai in the upcoming edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy which begins September 19.
Rahane, who was not part of India's ODI and T20I unit in England, hasn't been picked for the Asia Cup either. The admirable cricketer by no means wants to give up on his ambition to play for India in next year's ICC Cricket World Cup in England and that's why he wants to gain back his place by scoring big domestically.
While Rahane scored just 257 runs across 10 innings in England, he looked quite good in the latter half of the series, where he scored a matchwinning knock of 81 as well as played an assured innings of 50 at Southampton.
This is where Rahane would feel he has the opportunity to regain the lost confidence in his game.
Talking about Rahane's availability, a source close to the development was quoted telling Times of India as, “The selectors, led by former India allrounder Ajit Agarkar, will pick the team on Wednesday,” and added, “Besides recovering form, Rahane would have another reason to play in this tournament despite having just taken part in a gruelling series — a few runs here may just help him stay in fray for a spot in India’s team for the World Cup in England next year.”
Rahane has played 156 list A games and has amassed 5457 runs at 37.63 with 8 hundreds and 39 half-centuries.
Mumbai kickstarts their Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign with a game against Baroda on September 19.