Ranji Trophy final: Dhawal Kulkarni returns to boost Mumbai’s chances against Saurashtra

Five-day final will be played Pune's MCA Stadium from February 24 to 28.

New Delhi: The return of pacer Dhawal Kulkarni has significantly boosted Mumbai’s chances of winning the Ranji Trophy title against Saurashtra.

Kulkarni has missed the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh at Cuttack, after picking up an injury during their quarter-final victory over Jharkhand at Mysuru.

However, the right-arm medium pace bowler has been included in Mumbai's squad for the final match, to be played at Pune's MCA Stadium from February 24 to 28.

The 27-year-old has emerged as one of the most reliable and consistent pace bowlers in domestic circles. He has taken First-class 202 wickets in 67 matches.

He also has 13 One-Day International wickets from eight matches, after making India debut against England at Birmingham in 2014.

Mumbai are bidding to win their 41st Ranji Trophy title. They last won it in 2013, defeating Saurashtra.

Squad: Aditya Tare (Captain), Abhishek Nayar, Dhaval Kulkarni, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Akhil Herwadkar, Siddhesh Lad, Sufiyan Shaikh, Nikhil Patil (Jr.), Iqbal Abdullah, Shardul Thakur, Balwinder Singh Sandhu (Jr.), Badre Alam, Bhavin Thakkar, Vishal Dabholkar.