With a half-century in each innings during his Test debut against England in Rajkot on February 15, 2024, star Indian middle-order batsman Sarfaraz Khan is expected to be cut from the Indian squad for the second Test against Bangladesh, which is set to begin on September 27 at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.

Sarfaraz, who was left out of the starting XI for the series opener against the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led team in Chennai last week, will be released from the national squad to be available for Mumbai, the 2023–24 Ranji Trophy winners, when they play Rest of India (ROI) in the Irani Cup. This information was reported in the Times of India on Monday, September 23. The Irani Cup, which will be held from October 1–5, at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, has Mumbai matched up against ROI.

“India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar is adamant that Sarfaraz be released from the main squad so he can play in the Irani Cup, barring any last-minute injuries in the nets or fitness concerns with any of the main batsmen in Team India.” Sarfaraz may go to Lucknow even after the Kanpur Test has started since it just takes an hour to get there, according to a source that TOI cited.

The 26-year-old Sarfaraz, who has scored 4183 runs in 50 First-Class games so far, will strengthen Mumbai’s batting lineup, which already includes players like Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, and Musheer Khan. Whether or not Mumbai’s lineup includes India’s T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav would be intriguing to watch.

In the Irani Cup, Shardul Thakur is also anticipated to return for Mumbai, although leading pacer Tushar Deshpande will not play since he is recovering from surgery for injuries to his knee and ankle.

It is doubtful that Deshpande will be accessible over the next several months. He will also be absent from the Ranji Trophy’s preliminary stages. He may make a comeback as early as November for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, according to a source.

Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz’s younger brother, is expected to open for Mumbai in the one-off encounter against Prithvi Shaw. Khan struck a century earlier this year in the Ranji Trophy 2023–24 final for Mumbai against Vidarbha at Wankhede Stadium.