Finger injury keeps Shardul Thakur out of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy fixture

Mumbai all-rounder Shardul Thakur is set to miss the Ranji Trophy clash against Haryana as he continues recovering from a finger injury. Mumbai will retain their winning squad, while both teams enter the contest after winning their opening two matches

New Delhi: Mumbai will be without experienced all-rounder Shardul Thakur for their Elite Group D Round 3 clash against Haryana, which begins at the BKC Complex on Monday, as he continues to recover from a finger injury.

Thakur has been sidelined since sustaining the injury during a training session ahead of the season’s opening round. Although he has resumed training with the Mumbai squad, he has yet to regain full match fitness. He was initially expected to miss at least the first two rounds, with the team hoping he would be available for the Haryana fixture.

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Mumbai, however, have decided against rushing his return and will field the same squad that registered a convincing victory over Himachal Pradesh in Bilaspur in their previous match, according to ESPNcricinfo.

The 34-year-old last featured in the Duleep Trophy quarter-final for West Zone against North Zone in late August. He took one wicket in 14 overs and scored 10 runs in his only innings as West Zone suffered a 54-run defeat.

While working towards his return to competitive cricket, Thakur is also set to take up commentary duties for some of India’s ongoing T20 Internationals against New Zealand.

Mumbai have made an impressive start to their Ranji Trophy campaign, securing consecutive innings victories to collect 14 points and move to the top of Elite Group D. They opened their campaign with an innings-and-155-run win over Chandigarh at the Wankhede Stadium before defeating Himachal Pradesh by an innings and 97 runs in Bilaspur.

Mumbai will continue to manage their resources carefully, with several players unavailable. Vice-captain Ayush Mhatre is recovering from a hamstring injury, while opener Yashasvi Jaiswal is in New Zealand for the upcoming Test series after featuring in the India A series.

Haryana, meanwhile, also enter the contest after winning their opening two matches, setting up a clash between the top two teams in the group.