MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel and Yash Dayal have been released to participate in the Irani Cup, beginning on Tuesday in Lucknow. The Rest of India will compete against Mumbai in the Irani Cup, which will be played from Tuesday to Saturday.
Sarfaraz, Jurel, and Dayal were a part of India’s squad for the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur. However, India retained the same squad, and the trio missed out on a spot in the playing XI.
As a result, the trio was released from the squad to participate in the Irani Cup. Jurel and Dayal have been included in the Rest of India squad. He is the second wicketkeeper alongside Ishan Kishan, who is also staging a comeback to the Indian set-up.
Meanwhile, Sarfaraz has been included in Mumbai’s squad, led by Ajinkya Rahane. His brother Musheer Khan was also expected to join the Mumbai squad. However, sustained a “fracture in the neck region” after suffering from a road accident on the outskirts of Lucknow on Friday.
The Rest of India will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, with Abhimanyu Easwaran acting as his deputy. It was under Gaikwad’s captaincy that India won the gold medal in the Asian Games 2023.
One of the most notable absentees from the Irani Cup is the seasoned pacer Mohammed Shami. The 34-year-old has been on the sidelines since the conclusion of last year’s ODI World Cup.
Shami was likely to make his much-expected return to Test cricket in the Duleep Trophy. However, he missed out on a spot, and his return has been further delayed after missing out on a spot from the Rest of India squad.
Squads for the Irani Cup:
Rest of India: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vice-captain), B Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal, Ricky Bhui, Shashwat Rawat, Khaleel Ahmed, Rahul Chahar.
Mumbai: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Prithvi Shaw, Ayush Mhatre, Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad, Suryansh Shedge, Hardik Tamore (wk), Sidhaant Addhatrao (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, Mohammad Juned Khan, Royston Dias. (ANI)