Ranji Trophy: Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande back for Mumbai

MUMBAI: Languishing in the 14th spot with almost no chance of qualifying for the Ranji Trophy quarter finals this season, Mumbai will be bolstered by the return of pacers Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande for their penultimate league match against Vidarbha, which will be played from December 30 to January 2 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur.
Thakur has been out of the game since October 12, when his Test debut lasted just 10 deliveries before he hobbled off the field due to a side strain, against the West Indies at Hyderabad.
Deshpande claimed six wickets against Railways at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Mumbai's first game of the season, but has been out injured since then. In the absence of Thakur, Deshpande and Dhawal Kulkarni, who continues to stay out due to a swollen ankle, Mumbai's pace attack has been left severely depleted.
Thakur's return to action will be closely followed by the Indian team management and the national selectors too. The 26-year-old has played in five ODIs and seven T20 Internationals so far.
The Squad:
Siddhesh Lad (Captain), Shreyas Iyer, Aditya Tare, Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Jay Bista, Vikrant Auti, Shubham Ranjane, Eknath Kerkar, Karsh Kothari, Dhrumil Matkar, Tanush Kotian, Minad Manjrekar, Tushar Deshpande and Royston Dias.