Vidarbha fast bowler Rajneesh Gurbani, who starred in his side's maiden Ranji Trophy title win, has been called up for final trials by defending Indian Premier League champions Mumbai Indians. Gurbani, who grabbed the eyeballs by bagging 39 wickets in this Ranji season, reached Mumbai on Tuesday morning to attend the trials.
Gurbani, who picked up 8 wickets to script Vidarbha's triumph over Delhi in the Ranji Trophy final, has confirmed the development. "Yes, I have been called for the trials in Mumbai. Let's see how it goes," Gurbani told Sportstar.
Meanwhile, three-time champions Mumbai Indians are set to retain skipper Rohit Sharma along with Pandya brothers, Hardik and Krunal in their stable ahead of the IPL auction on January 27.
While the last date of submission for the player retention is January 4, the franchises are more or less certain about the kind of players they would like to retain and the ones they would buy back with Right To Match (RTM) cards.
"Skipper Rohit Sharma is an automatic retention having led the team to three IPL titles. Hardik Pandya is one of the big match-winners and the interesting third retention would be Krunal Pandya," a senior BCCI official has said.
"Krunal being an uncapped Indian can be retained for only Rs 3 crore instead of Rs 7 crore for third capped player. Also Krunal was an exceptional performer last year," he added.
It is a strategic decision to retain Krunal as this will enable the franchise to buy back Kieron Pollard and Jasprit Bumrah with the 'Right To Match' cards.
