Mumbai will have to manage without the services of seasoned seam-bowling allrounder Shardul Thakur for yet another round of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season. Thakur has been ruled out of Mumbai’s third-round Elite Group D encounter against Haryana, which is scheduled to commence on Monday at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy ground at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai.
The injury setback means Thakur remains sidelined after having already missed the opening two fixtures of the domestic red-ball campaign. Despite being an integral component of Mumbai’s pace attack and lower-order batting depth, the 34-year-old has not yet attained full match fitness following a hand injury sustained ahead of the tournament’s opening round.
According to team management updates, Thakur suffered a fracture to his right middle finger during a training session just before the start of the Ranji Trophy season. The initial medical assessments indicated that the recovery timeline would force him to sit out at least the first two rounds of the competition. While the Mumbai camp had harborably anticipated his return in time for the third-round fixture against Haryana, his rehabilitation process is taking longer than expected, rendering him unavailable for selection once again.
In the absence of Thakur, the Mumbai selection committee has decided to keep faith in the existing group. The squad named for the Haryana fixture remains unchanged from the group that secured a comprehensive victory, complete with a bonus point, against Himachal Pradesh in their previous encounter in Bilaspur.
Although Thakur has not yet been cleared to return to competitive action, he has maintained a presence around the squad. He has been actively participating in training sessions with the Mumbai team to keep his conditioning on track. Over the weekend, he was also spotted making a public appearance alongside India teammate Suryakumar Yadav at a Major League Baseball event hosted in Mumbai on Saturday evening.
Furthermore, while continuing his recovery off the field, Thakur is set to take on temporary commentary duties for some of the Twenty20 Internationals that the Indian national team is currently playing in New Zealand.
The extended layoff means Thakur’s competitive hiatus continues. He has not featured in an official match since late August, when he represented West Zone in the Duleep Trophy quarter-final fixture against North Zone. During that outing, the out-of-favour India allrounder delivered 14 overs of bowling, picking up one wicket, and contributed 10 runs during his only batting opportunity in the first innings. He remained unbeaten on zero without facing a delivery in the second innings of a match that North Zone ultimately won by 54 runs.
Mumbai’s team management will continue to navigate the early stages of the Ranji Trophy campaign with a somewhat depleted squad. Aside from Thakur’s ongoing absence, the domestic giants are also missing newly appointed vice-captain Ayush Mhatre, who is currently out of action due to a hamstring injury. Additionally, explosive opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal is unavailable as he is currently with the Indian squad in New Zealand, where he is slated to feature in the Test match series following the conclusion of the ongoing ‘A’ team fixtures.
Despite these personnel challenges, Mumbai has made a strong start to their defense of domestic dominance. The defending champions currently sit at the summit of the Elite Group D standings, accumulating 14 points from their opening matches, and will look to maintain their momentum against Haryana on home soil without their prominent allrounder.
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