Mumbai gets Kulkarni boost for Ranji final against Saurashtra

Mumbai's bid to clinch their 41st Ranji Trophy crown, and the first after two seasons, got a significant boost with the availability of fit-again pacer Dhawal Kulkarni for the final against Saurashtra in Pune.

Kulkarni missed the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh at Cuttack, after picking up an injury during their quarter-final victory over Jharkhand at Mysuru.

Other than his inclusion, the Mumbai selectors have retained the squad that secured their place for their 45th title clash in Cuttack.

Significantly, when Mumbai clinched their 40th crown, Saurashtra were their opponents in the 2012-13 season.

The five-day final will begin on February 24.

The Mumbai squad: Aditya Tare (Captain), Abhishek Nayar, Dhaval Kulkarni, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Akhil Herwadkar, Siddhesh Lad, Sufiyan Shaikh, Nikhil Patil (Jr.), Iqbal Abdullah, Shardul Thakur, Balwinder Singh Sandhu (Jr.), Badre Alam, Bhavin Thakkar, Vishal Dabholkar.

Image: Mumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarni.

Photograph: Matt Roberts/Getty Images.