Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has been ruled out of Mumbai's Ranji Trophy semifinal against Vidarbha, starting from Monday in Nagpur, due to an ankle injury. Jaiswal has picked up an ankle niggle in his right foot during training this weekend.
Left-handed opener Jaiswal was part of India's Champions Trophy squad. However, he was replaced by Varun Chakravarthy and named in the non-travelling reserves in the final squad. Jaiswal is now expected to return home.
The 23-year-old has been one of India's brightest stars in Test cricket. He recently made his ODI debut in the three-match series against England, playing one match in place of an injured Virat Kohli and scoring 15 in that game.
The Indian thin tank had a look at him for a third opener's option apart from Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. However, they changed their mind and brought Chakravarthy into the team after the myster spinner's exploits in the England T20Is.
Jaiswal featured in one Ranji Trophy match this season after BCCI's diktat made it mandatory for the contracted players to play domestic cricket. He was part of Mumbai's Playing XI alongside national team captain Rohit in Mumbai's group-stage fixture against Jammu and Kashmir and scored 4 and 26 in that fixture.
Mumbai are not expected to announce a replacement for Jaiswal for the semifinal as they have plenty of resources in their arsenal, including captain Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur. Both Jaiswal and Dube are named as non-travelling reserves for the Champions Trophy.
Mumbai, the defending champions, have advanced to the semifinals after beating Haryana in the quarter-final. Although they were in trouble early in the first innings, the lower order bailed them out and helped them win by 152 runs. They now face Vidarbha in the semis, a repeat of last season's final.
Mumbai squad for Ranji Trophy semifinal:
Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Amogh Bhatkal, Suryakumar Yadav, Siddhesh Lad, Shivam Dube, Akash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Suryansh Shedge, Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Mohit Avasthi, Sylvester D'Souza, Royston Dias, Atharva Ankolekar, Harsh Tanna