Shreyas Iyer to play for Mumbai in Ranji semifinal against Tamil Nadu

Mumbai, Feb 27 (PTI) Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer was on Tuesday named in Mumbai's 16-member squad for the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Tamil Nadu starting on March 2.

Mumbai qualified for the semifinals after their quarterfinal clash against Baroda ended in a draw at the BKC Ground, with the 41-time champions making it to the final four on the basis of first-innings lead.

Lacking big runs and struggling with a back-related issue again, the 29-year-old Iyer was not named in India's squad for the last three Tests against England.

Iyer, subsequently, also missed Mumbai's quarterfinal match along with all-rounder Shivam Dube.

The timing of Iyer pulling out of the key Ranji clash coincided with BCCI secretary Jay Shah announcing that a directive will be issued to players to compulsorily play domestic matches.

While Dube is on the mend having suffered a side strain issue, Iyer has recovered completely and will be available for the semifinal against Tamil Nadu.

Mumbai squad: Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Bhupen Lalwani, Amogh Bhatkal, Musheer Khan, Prasad Pawar, Hardik Tamore, Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Aditya Dhumal, Tushar Deshpande, Mohit Avasthi, Royston Dias, Dhawal Kulkarni. PTI