Zaheer ruled out for Mumbai’s quarter-final against Baroda

FOR ARCHIVES: MUMBAI Vs UP/ Zaheer Khan of Mumbai during 2nd day Ranji trophy cricket match final at Rajiv Gandhi international cricket Stadium Uppal in Hyderabad on Tuesday. PHOTO: K_RAMESH BABU

Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar will boost the Mumbai batting line up in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final game against Baroda in Mumbai from January 6 but the 39-time champions will miss pace spearhead Zaheer Khan due to his calf injury.

Tendulkar had recently retired from the one-day internationals and is thus available for Mumbai’s remaining Ranji campaign, but Zaheer is out with a calf injury sustained during the team’s last league game against Gujarat at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

“Zaheer has sustained a calf injury and is currently in rehab mode at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore,” said Mumbai Cricket Association’s joint secretary and selection meeting convenor Nitin Dalal.

The team, selected in Mumbai on Thursday for the knock out game scheduled at the Wankhede Stadium, will be led by Ajit Agarkar, who is fit after missing the tie against Gujarat due to an injury.

Mumbai will also miss the services of key batsmen Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma who are members of the Indian ODI squad now playing against Pakistan.

The Mumbai squad: Ajit Agarkar (Captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffer, Suryakumar Yadav, Dhaval Kulkarni, Kaustubh Pawar, Abhishek Nayar, Hiken Shah, Aditya Tare, Ankit Chavan, Nikhil Patil (Jr.), Javed Khan, Shoaib Shaikh, Shardul Thakur and Vishal Dabholkar.

Coach: Sulakshan Kulkarni.