Elite Group B leaders Mumbai in Ranji Trophy 2024 will rest Shivam Dubey for their upcoming sixth round clash against Chhattisgarh at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur from Friday, February 9. It is being said that, the all-rounder is struggling with stiffness in his legs. He will return to the playing eleven for the final league-stage match against Assam as well as the subsequent knockout matches.

Dubey had led the Mumbai team in the innings win over Bengal at the Eden Gardens in the absence of Ajinkya Rahane. At one time the score of the visiting team was 87/4. Then he counter-attacked and played an innings of 72 runs in 73 balls. Dubey also did wonders with the ball and took two wickets while he bowled a total of 22 overs in both the innings.

Mumbai Chief Selector gave a big statement regarding Shivam Dubey

Mumbai Chief Selector Raju Kulkarni said that the decision to rest Dubey is just a precautionary step. He said, “Shivam has been rested as he is facing some stiffness in his legs. This is just a precautionary measure as there will hardly be any difference between our last league match and the knockout matches. He will play against Assam and then in the knockout.

Although the team will be without Dubey in the upcoming match, they will be strengthened by the return of Shardul Thakur, Ajinkya Rahane, Tushar Deshpande and Shams Mulani. While the Mumbai team was waiting for Thakur’s fitness clearance, Shardul was last seen playing for India on the South Africa tour in December 2023. The all-rounder was struggling with an ankle injury and was advised two weeks of rest by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) medical team.

Rahane, who has been struggling with poor form for some time, could not play in the match against Bengal due to a hamstring injury. Now he has returned to the team and he would like to try to score runs while captaining the team. The experienced batsman has scored only 33 runs in five innings so far in the Ranji Trophy.