Shams Mulani replaces injured Markande in Rest of India squad

image-lenuv74rShams Mulani has been impressive with both bat and ball (Source: Twitter)

The Rest of India squad has been dealt a double injury blow ahead of the highly anticipated Irani Cup. The team has already been struggling with injury woes and now leg-spinner Mayank Markande has been ruled out of the tournament due to a finger injury he picked up during a training session.

The news was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) through a media advisory. The RoI selectors will be disappointed as the leg-spinner was chosen over the season's top wicket-takers, Jalaj Saxena of Kerala and Shams Mulani, who picked up 50 and 46 wickets, respectively.

Markande's absence will be a significant blow to the RoI's chances in the tournament. In addition to the leggie, another prominent name missing from the squad is that of Sarfraz Khan, who has been in scintillating form in the domestic circuit. The swashbuckling right-hander sustained a finger injury during the DY Patil T20 Cup in Mumbai and has been advised to rest. Khan is currently undergoing treatment for his injury at a fitness camp organized by the Delhi Capitals in Kolkata.

The RoI selectors have named Mulani as a replacement for the injured leg-spinner in the 16-member squad. The Mumbai all-rounder, who has been in excellent form with both bat and ball, will be expected to fill the void left by the Punjab spinner's absence.

The Irani Cup, which is set to begin on Wednesday, March 1, will see Rest of India take on 2021-22 Ranji Trophy Champions Madhya Pradesh at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior. With injuries, the Rest of India squad is now facing a selection dilemma ahead of the Irani Cup opener. The team will need to put their injury woes behind them and come up with a strong game plan to overcome Madhya Pradesh, who will be looking to capitalize on the RoI's injury struggles.

Updated ROI squad: Mayank Agarwal (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yash Dhull, Baba Indrajith, Upendra Yadav (wk), Atit Sheth, Saurabh Kumar, Harvik Desai, Navdeep Saini, Mukesh Kumar, Chetan Sakariya, Akash Deep, Shams Mulani, Pulkit Narang, Sudip Kumar Gharami