This Star batter is likely to be released from team India’s test squad for the Irani Cup: Reports

After the Test match against England in Rajkot on February 15, 2024, where he made his first Test appearance and scored a fifty in both the innings, Sarfaraz Khan the star Indian middle-order batter is going to be released from India’s squad for the second Test match against Bangladesh that is taking place in Kanpur at Green Park Stadium from 27th September onwards.

As informed by a report from the Times of India, Sarfaraz who was not included in the playing XI for the first match of the series held in Chennai last week under the captaincy of Najmul Hossain Shanto, is going to get released from the national team for the purpose of playing the Irani Cup for the 2023-24 season with Mumbai, where he plays. The Irani Cup commences in Lucknow at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, where Mumbai and ROI are scheduled to meet between October 1 – 5.

“The head of the selection committee in India Ajit Agarkar believes that apart from those batting, Sarfaraz should be released from the main team in order for him to take part in the Irani Cup, unless there are any injuries in the nets, or fitness concerns of the Team India’s main batters. Also, it’s just under an hour drive from Kanpur to Lucknow, so even after the Kanpur Test is well underway, Sarfaraz can still go to Lucknow,” a source quote from TOI.

The 26-year-old Sarfaraz, who has so far scored 4183 runs in 50 First-Class matches, will be another boost for the batting department of Mumbai which will also include Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw and Musheer Khan among others. It would be curious to see whether India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav is part of Mumbai’s squad for the match or not.

Shardul Thakur is also expected to make a return for Mumbai in the Irani Cup but star pacer Tushar Deshpande will skip the match as he is recovering after surgery due to strain injuries on his ankle and knee.

“Deshpande might not be available for the next couple of months. He shall not be participating in the first few matches of the Ranji Trophy as well. The earliest we expect him to be back is for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, which is in November,” a source stated.

Sarfaraz’s younger brother Musheer Khan, who scored a century in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 final for Mumbai against Vidarbha at Wankhede Stadium earlier in the year, is likely to open for Mumbai in the one off match with Prithvi Shaw instead.