Ranji Trophy: Injuries hit Mumbai ahead of knockouts

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Ranji side has been afflicted by the same problem which has plagued the Indian team this season - injuries. It has resulted in a change in the final XI in virtually every game. TOI has learnt that when the Mumbai selectors meet on Monday to pick the team for the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Hyderabad at Raipur from December 23, they will have to scratch their heads to find immediate replacements for four key players, who're all injured.
Seamers Dhawal Kulkarni (fluid in his knees), Balwinder Singh Sandhu (bad back), opener Akhil Herwadkar (foot injury), and middle-order batsman Shubham Ranjane (pulled thigh muscle) have been ruled out of the last eight clash.
Playing just the second First Class game of his career, Ranjane had salvaged a crucial draw for Mumbai against Bengal at Nagpur by scoring an unbeaten 76. The 22-year-old would've looked to carry that momentum into the Kos, but will now miss the rest of the tournament as he's been advised rest for around five weeks.
Herwadkar hasn't played since the last two games after scoring two centuries and aggregating 447 runs in six matches. His unavailability has aggravated Mumbai's problem at the top, as both Jay Bista (106 runs in four games@15.14) and Kaustubh Pawar (180 runs in six games@18.00) have failed in the opening position and may be dropped. After managing merely 44 runs in six innings@7.33, talented youngster Armaan Jaffer too may be axed.
“We'll have to find new openers for this match. We'll look at the performances of those who're doing well in local cricket,” Mumbai chief selector Milind Rege told TOI on Sunday. Those who could be in contention are opener Kevin Almeida, who scored a triple hundred in the Purshottam Shield on Sunday, and wicketkeeper-batsman Sagar Kelkar, who hit 180 in the same tournament on the same day.