Sarfraz Khan likely to be released for Irani Cup tie

MUMBAI: In what will be a big boost for Mumbai, the BCCI is likely to release Sarfaraz Khan from the national squad for the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur, in order to enable the batsman to turn out for the current Ranji Trophy champions' upcoming Irani Cup tie against Rest of India at Lucknow.

Sarfaraz was a part of the squad for the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai, which India won by 280 runs on Sunday, but couldn't get to play in the XI. The second Test will be held in the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur from September 27-October 1, while the Irani Cup will take place nearby at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow from October 1-5.

"India's chief selector Ajit Agarkar is keen that baring any last-minute injuries in the nets or fitness issues to any of the main batsmen in Team India, Sarfaraz should be released from the main squad to allow him to play in the Irani Cup. In any case, it takes just about an hour to reach Lucknow from Kanpur, so Sarfaraz can leave for Lucknow even much after the Kanpur Test has begun," a source told TOI. Things should become clearer when Mumbai pick their squad for the Irani Cup on Tuesday.

While Sarfaraz, who has scored 4183 runs in 50 First-Class matches at 66.39, with 14 hundreds and 14 fifties, will add muscle to Mumbai's batting, their bowling will suffer a big setback as pacer Tushar Deshpande will miss the clash as he is recuperating after undergoing a surgery following injuries to his ankle and knee. "Deshpande is unlikely to be available for the next couple of months. He will miss the initial rounds of the Ranji Trophy too. The earliest he may return is for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in November," a source said.

In another interesting development, talented youngster Musheer Khan, who scored 181 at No 3 on his Duleep Trophy debut earlier this month, is likely to open for Mumbai with Prithvi Shaw in the Irani Cup, following the departure of opener Bhupen Lalwani to Chhatisgarh this season. Musheer opens regularly for the DY Patil team in Mumbai’s local tournaments.


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