Ranji Trophy: Ajinkya Rahane named in Mumbai squad, KL Rahul to miss fixture against Maharashtra

Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane will be playing in Mumbai's squad against Odisha in this Ranji Trophy season, reported Yahoo. Earlier, despite having no commitments with the national team, Rahane made himself unavailable for the first two games of Mumbai first two games, an action which disappointed the state association's selection committee. The right-hander was vacationing in Seychelles. 

Along with Rahane, Pacer Shardul Thakur will be returning as well and will strengthen the bowling attack of the 41-time champions in the game against Odisha between November 1 and 4 in Bhubaneswar.

Currently, both Rahane and Thakur are part of the Indian squad for the ongoing India vs New Zealand ODI series but they did not get the chance to play in either of the first two matches. Since they are not a part of India's squad for the upcoming T20I series against the Black Caps, they will instead play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. As per the reports, Rahane will be available for selection for the next two matches and he will be taking Shreyas Iyer 's place in the Mumbai vs Odisha fixture. 

Moreover, as per reports in The Hindu, K.L. Rahul, along with S. Arvind, will be missing the Group A fixture of Karnataka against Maharashtra, which is scheduled to begin in Pune on Wednesday. Instead of Ranji, Rahul will be joining the India Twenty20 squad for the series against New Zealand.

Further, there is another player who will be missing the Ranji. According to reports, veteran Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has been dropped from the Baroda squad for the forthcoming Ranji Trophy clash against Tripura, with Baroda's poor performance cited as the official reason. Pathan has been replaced by young Deepak Hooda, who has been appointed as the new skipper. 

The decision of Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) to drop Irfan comes as a surprise since it is too soon to make such grave decisions, and Pathan recently hit a fine knock of 80.   

“The selectors have taken this decision. They have done what they felt was right,” BCA secretary Snehal Parikh was quoted as saying by Sportstar. 

“We have not done well in the first two home games, so the selectors wanted to try out youngsters against a relatively easy opponent. If it clicks, we will continue with this lineup,” Parikh added. Baroda find themselves at the bottom of Group C after 2 games.

However, Pathan was surprised by the decision and stated he will keep working hard to achieve his goal. 

“Fitness is not an issue as well. I am performing decently and to my strength. There is no disciplinary issue either. Then what is the reason behind the ouster?” Irfan said.

 “I have seen many ups and downs in my career, so these things no longer affect me.”

Before the tournament, Irfan had said that the ongoing Ranji Trophy season will be critical for him and admitted that he is “standing on thin ice.”