Mumbai retain squad for Ranji Trophy final

Mumbai: Hosts Mumbai, bidding to regain the Ranji Trophy championship after a gap of two seasons, on Wednesday retained their semifinal squad for the summit clash against Saurashtra to be played at the Wankhede Stadium here from January 26-30.

However, Mumbai`s hopes of summoning opener Ajinkya Rahane and middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma, who are part of the Indian ODI squad playing against England, for the game have been dashed, according to Mumbai Cricket Association`s joint secretary Nitin Dalal. "We have retained the same squad (that played in the semis against Services at the Palam Ground in Delhi) for the final. But I don`t think the Rahane and Rohit would be released for the match," he said. The two players` presence was requested through a letter to the Cricket Board by MCA after Mumbai defeated Services on the basis of the first innings lead. Ajit Agarkar would lead the 39-time winners who will also be without injured pacer Zaheer Khan. Zaheer hurt his calf muscle during the last league game against Gujarat at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai and is undergoing rehabilitation. The full 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, Sushant Marathe, Shardul Thakur and Vishal Dabholkar Coach: Sulakshan Kulkarni. PTI