Irani Cup (Twitter)

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 (Twitter)

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.

2. Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer. (Source – BCCI Domestic)

Shreyas Iyer was part of India’s Test squad earlier in the year. A lot has changed since then as the cricketer was removed from BCCI’s central contract and after which, he won the IPL, made his return to ODI cricket and was handed the baton of the India D squad in the Duleep Trophy. Under his leadership, India D lost the opening two games but won the final game of the tournament.

More than anything, his batting will be closely monitored. The Mumbai batter has faced immense criticism for his batting in the recent past and he would be hoping to play a big knock in the Irani Cup to be once again in the scheme of things as far as Test cricket is concerned. 

In the Duleep Trophy, he played an aggressive brand of cricket and for the same reason, he lost wickets cheaply at times but also has two half-centuries to his name. Despite so, there’s still a lot of room for improvement – something that he needs to focus on in the Irani Cup and later, in the Ranji Trophy.

1. Mukesh Kumar

Mukesh Kumar. (Photo Source: Jio Cinema)

Mukesh Kumar picked up 15 wickets in the Duleep Trophy and finished as the second leading wicket-taker of the tournament. He missed out on the ticket to the national team for the Bangladesh series as Akash Deep was preferred ahead of him and that probably ignited his spirit. Now, he would hope to keep up with the momentum in the Irani Cup to fight for a spot in the series against New Zealand.

Notably, in Mukesh’s final game in the Duleep Trophy, he picked up a four-wicket haul against India D in the second innings but it wasn’t enough for the team to pick up a win. They eventually failed to win the trophy after a terrific start against India A in Bengaluru and that should motivate Mukesh to get better.

The selectors will keep an eye on him, keeping the upcoming Australia series in mind and for the same reason, the pacer cannot afford to put his foot down at the moment. He was part of the Test squad earlier in the year but lost his spot and that is something he needs to gain now by working hard. Irani Cup is the first step for that, which will be followed by Ranji Trophy.