MUMBAI: The Ranji Trophy match promises to be one that the masses will relish. Mumbai are likely to be bolstered by the inclusion of Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar while Bengal will have the experience and canniness of Sourav Ganguly to fall back on in the final at the Wankhede Stadium between February 2-6.
Ever since Dilip Vengsarkar took over the reins of the national selection committee he has insisted that the stars take part in the Ranji Trophy whenever possible.
“Tendulkar, Zaheer, Ajit and Ramesh are all available for selection and I want them to play. But the decision will only be taken on Monday,” Vengsarkar told DNA. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, on its part, has released all the players. “The players have all been released by the Board and we feel that they must play in the Ranji final,” said BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah. “It will be good for the game.”
Mumbai, defeated Baroda by 63 runs in the semi-final, have charted a highly unusual path to the final. Their first three games yielded no points but thereafter outright victories have been the order of the day.
With the India stars likely to return, the likes of Swapnil Hazare, Rajesh Verma, Wilkin Mota and Hiken Shah might find themselves on the sidelines. Abhishek Nair’s good performances with the bat and ball should see him retain his place in the side.
Earlier in the season, Tendulkar and Zaheer were going to turn out for Mumbai against Maharashtra in their concluding league match after returning from South Africa. However, due to injury and personal reasons respectively, the duo were unable to make it to Nashik. Tendulkar last played for Mumbai in 2000-01 season against Baroda at MIG Club ground in a zonal Ranji tie while Zaheer has never played for Mumbai.
