Mumbai, Jan 28: Defending champions Mumbai announced their 16-member squad sans India stars Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer to take on Meghalaya in their must-win Ranji Trophy Elite Group A clash starting here on Thursday.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Suryansh Shedge and Atharva Ankolekar have been called back.
Mumbai, who are coming off a five-wicket defeat against Jammu and Kashmir last week, will be without the India stars Jaiswal, Iyer and Rohit, who all have joined the Indian team for the upcoming ODI series against England starting on February 6.
These three players had featured in the sixth round game here at the BKC Ground, with Rohit and Jaiswal following the BCCI diktat to play domestic cricket regularly.
Iyer, on the other hand, has been a vital cog in Mumbai side for domestic competitions across formats this year.
The trio is also a part of the Indian squad for the Champions Trophy next month.
Karsh Kothari, who also featured in Mumbai’s playing XI against Jammu and Kashmir, was not picked.
The defeat against Jammu and Kashmir has dented Mumbai’s title defence as the Ajinkya Rahane-led side will now be required to record a big victory — with a bonus point — against Meghalaya and hope that Baroda beat the table-toppers Jammu and Kashmir in their backyard.
Mumbai squad: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Amogh Bhatkal, Siddhesh Lad, Akash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Suryansh Shedge, Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Mohit Avasthi, Sylvester D’Souza, Royston Dias, Shreyas Gurav, Atharva Ankolekar. (PTI)
