Vijay Hazare Trophy: After Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma Confirms Mumbai Availability Ahead Of IND Vs NZ ODIs

Mumbai: Former India captain Rohit Sharma has confirmed that he will be available for Mumbai's opening two games of the Vijay Hazare Trophy starting December 24.

However T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, recovering from a bout of gastritis, Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube will miss the initial games.

"Rohit will be available for the first two games," a MCA source confirmed to PTI late in the night.

Mumbai Chief Selector Sanjay Patil's Statement

"Jaiswal, Dube and even Rahane will not be a part of the Mumbai squad for at least first two matches as the selection panel is going ahead with a young squad," Mumbai chief selector Sanjay Patil had earlier told PTI.

The question arises whether chairman of selectors Patil enjoys clear communication with MCA administrators as he seemed to be in the dark in the morning when enquired about Rohit's availability.

"Yashasvi is undergoing treatment for a stomach issue and he should be alright soon. We thought that the youngsters should be given a chance. But whenever they will be available, they will be accommodated," he said.

"But for the first two matches we are experimenting with youngsters," Patil had said.

The elite division of the 50-over tournament will be held from December 24 to January 8 in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jaipur and Bengaluru while the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru will host the knockout matches from January 12-18.

Mumbai are placed in Group C along with Punjab, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Goa and Himachal Pradesh.

Mumbai will take on Sikkim on the opening day of the tournament on December 24.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)