Shardul Thakur Out of Mumbai's Ranji Trophy Clash Against Haryana

Star all-rounder Shardul Thakur has been ruled out of Mumbai's third-round Ranji Trophy 2026-27 fixture against Haryana, set to begin on Monday at the BKC complex in Mumbai. Thakur continues to recover from a fractured right middle finger, an injury he sustained during a training session before the tournament's opening round, as reported by Crictracker. According to ESPN Cricinfo, he picked up the injury before the start of the Ranji Trophy season and is yet to fully recover, marking his third consecutive Ranji Trophy match absence for Mumbai.

Despite Thakur's ongoing recovery and other injury concerns, Mumbai leads Elite Group D with 14 points from two rounds. The team retained the same squad that secured a bonus point victory against Himachal Pradesh in Bilaspur in the previous round. Other significant absences for Mumbai include newly appointed vice-captain Ayush Mhatre, sidelined with a hamstring injury, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is currently in New Zealand for Test matches following the ongoing 'A' series. To bolster the squad, opening batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi and all-rounder Suryansh Shedge were drafted in ahead of the second round and remain with the team for the Haryana fixture.

During his rehabilitation, Thakur has been training alongside the Mumbai squad and was recently spotted with Suryakumar Yadav at a Major League Baseball event in Mumbai on Saturday evening. Although unavailable for selection, the out-of-favour India all-rounder is slated to take on commentary duties for certain T20Is during India's ongoing series against New Zealand. His last competitive appearance was in late August during the Duleep Trophy quarter-final, representing West Zone against North Zone, where he secured one wicket in 14 overs and contributed 10 runs with the bat in his sole completed innings.

What to watch: Mumbai will aim to maintain their top position in Elite Group D without Thakur, while his recovery progresses.

Editor's note: Thoroughly covers the sports report with great detail on squad composition, injuries, and background information.