India's Test batsman Ajinkya Rahane has been named in the Mumbai squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2022, but he will be playing under the captaincy of young Prithvi Shaw. The tournament is slated to begin on February 17 onwards and will be played in two phases.
Shaw was named the captain of the Mumbai Ranji squad when the tournament was supposed to begin from January 13 onwards and Rahane was not included as he was in South Africa. Now that the tournament has been pushed back, Rahane was named in the squad, but the MCA officials decided to retain Shaw as captain.
The 33-year-old Rahane who's played 82 Tests, 90 ODIs, and 20 Twenty20Is, has captained India in six Tests, famously leading the team to a 2-1 Test series win in Australia.
The decision to retain 22-year-old Prithvi Shaw as the Mumbai captain for the upcoming Ranji Trophy was taken collectively by the selection panel, Amol Muzumdar, and the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), in consultation with Ajinkya Rahane.
Mumbai has been grouped with defending champions Saurashtra, Odisha, and Goa in Group D and the matches will be played in Ahmedabad. They play Saurashtra in the opener from February 17, then Goa on February 24, and then Odisha in their last league game from March 3.
Ranji Trophy 2022 to begin from February 17, BCCI informs state associations- Report
"Prithvi is just 22. We're looking at the future. We're looking at building the side. There are a couple of players, Musheer Khan for example, who've done really well for the Mumbai Under-19 team, but have missed out on selection. We're looking forward to him also coming into the side. They are fantastic players. We've got a good bench strength. Our Under-19 boys have done really well," MCA selector Salil Ankola told TOI.
"Captaincy doesn't really matter to Ajinkya. He's one player who'll give his 200% for Mumbai. For someone who's played 82 Tests, I definitely expect him to bounce back and help Mumbai win games. Watch the fun! It's a good squad. We've to look at the future. It's a pity that we couldn't pick a couple of more players, who were in my mind, but we can only pick 21. Let's hope for the best now," said the 53-year-old. "(Pacer) Tushar Deshpande missed out due to injuries. We want him fully fit. Let him recuperate,” Ankola added.
The team, which has been training at the Wankhede Stadium, and played a practice game there on Tuesday, for the past week, will arrive in Ahmedabad and quarantine there from February 10.
Mumbai squad for Ranji Trophy 2022:
Prithvi Shaw (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aakarshit Gomel, Arman Jaffer, Sarfaraz Khan, Sachin Yadav, Aditya Tare (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Shivam Dube, Aman Khan, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Prashant Solanki, Shashank Attarde, Dhaval Kulkarni, Mohit Awasthi, Prince Badiani, Siddharth Raut, Roystan Dias, Arjun Tendulkar
(Times of India inputs)
