File photo of Sarfaraz Khan© X (Twitter)
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on Tuesday that Sarfaraz Khan will be released to play for Mumbai in the Irani Cup 2024 if he is not included in the playing XI for the second Test match against Bangladesh starting Friday. There have been a lot of conversation regarding Sarfaraz's future after he was not involved in the first Test match and BCCI have now provided a concrete answer. "Sarfaraz Khan who has been retained in the Team India squad for the 2nd Test, will be released to represent the Mumbai team subject to him not being involved in the second Test match against Bangladesh in Kanpur," the BCCI release said.
Yash Dayal and Dhruv Jurel were also included in the Rest Of India squad but their participation will also depend on whether they play against Bangladesh.
"Dhruv Jurel and Yash Dayal have been selected in the Rest of India squad and their participation is subject to them not being involved in the second Test match against Bangladesh in Kanpur. The 2nd Test will begin from 27th September," the media release further stated.
Ajinkya Rahane is all set to lead Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai in the upcoming Irani Cup game against Rest of India in Lucknow, which will also mark all-rounder Shardul Thakur's return to first-class cricket post surgery.
It is understood that all top players including Shreyas Iyer, Musheer Khan, Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian are supposed to play the match.
According to PTI, Suryakumar Yadav, who is India's T20 skipper, and all-rounder Shivam Dube, both of whom are automatic picks in the Indian T20 squad, won't be playing the Irani Cup as they would have to report in Gwalior on October 3 for the T20I series starting October 6
Rest of India squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran (VC), Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (WK)*, Ishan Kishan (WK), Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal*, Ricky Bhui, Shashwat Rawat, Khaleel Ahmed, Rahul Chahar
(With PTI inputs)