The focus will be all on Shreyas Iyer when hosts Mumbai take on Tamil Nadu in the semi-final of Ranji Trophy from Saturday at the MCA Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy ground, Bandra Kurla Complex.
Following the tough stance taken by the Indian cricket board, all the fit players are available for the marquee domestic championship and it will be a star-studded affair.
Mumbai’s line-up boasts of Ajinkya Rahane, Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Prithvi Shaw and rising star Musheer Khan while Tamil Nadu has been bolstered by the return of all-rounder Washington Sundar and top-order batter B Sai Sudharsan to add to their already strong line-up of R Sai Kishore, Baba Indrajith and Sandeep Warrier.
To add needle to the contest, Tamil Nadu is being coached by former Mumbai coach Sulakshan Kulkarni who will be pitted against his former trainee Omkar Salvi. Earlier this season, the two sides had met in the Vijay Hazare quarter-final where Kulkarni had masterminded a seven-wicket triumph with his spin attack.
On the eve of the game, he again threw down the gauntlet. “I’ve told my team that Mumbai cricket is on my fingertips. I know each and every (player’s) positives and negatives. Yes, we respect our opponents a lot because they’ve a big legacy, but we’ll have a good game. They’re playing well, which is why they’ve reached here,” said Kulkarni.
The manner in which the Mumbai batters cope against the double left-arm spin combination of Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram is going to be crucial.