Mumbai vs Rest of India: Top 3 Players to watch out for in one-off match of Irani Cup

Irani Cup is a one-off match that is played between the champions of the Ranji Trophy against the Rest of India. In 2024, Mumbai will be playing the Rest of the India squad, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. More or less, all the players have featured in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy and are in rhythm and so, a hard-fought contest is expected.

Notably, Mumbai will miss the service of Musheer Khan in the tournament, who is ruled out following a car accident. Senior batter and captain Ajinkya Rahane will now have extra responsibility in the middle order, while the selectors will also keep an eye on Shreyas Iyer, who hit two half-centuries in the Duleep Trophy.

The rest of India squad, on the other hand, is filled with in-form players. They have a star-studded squad and will be the favourites to win the tournament. However, beating Mumbai in red-ball cricket may not be an easy task. Which team would emerge victorious is something that needs to be seen.

Here are the three players that can create the most impact:

3. Ricky Bhui

Ricky Bhui was the star performer for India D in the Duleep Trophy. He has been doing well in the domestic circuit for quite a long but a call from the national team never came. The 27-year-old was never in the scheme of things as well. However, after a terrific showing in the Duleep Trophy, he is on the radar and for the same reason, the cricketer has been called up for the Irani Cup.

He will be a vital part of the Rest of India squad in the one-off game. In the three matches that he played in the Duleep Trophy, Bhui scored 359 runs, including two centuries. The Bhopal-born also finished as the leading run-scorer of the tournament. He was also named Player of the Match in India D’s final game against India B in the Duleep Trophy.

Apart from batting, Bhui can also bowl leg-spin if required. He hasn’t bowled at all in the Duleep Trophy but given how Indian team management now prefers to have batters, who can bowl, Bhui could have seen bowling more often in the upcoming domestic season.