Mumbai, Nov 16: Ajinkya Rahane, who recently made headlines with an impressive ODI debut against England, has been released from Team India to play for Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy encounter against Karnataka between November 17 and 20 at the Brabourne stadium.

The upcoming match is expected to be a thriller with both teams boasting of strong line-ups consisting of national players. 39-time Ranji champions Mumbai feature players like Rohit Sharma, Ajit Agarkar, Wasim Jaffer, Abhiskek Nayar and youngsters like Suryakumar Yadav and Iqbal Abdulla. The Karnataka line-up, on the other hand, showcases upcoming national stars Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, KB Pawan and others.

When asked if he was happy that Mumbai would be fielding all their major players in the all important match, skipper Wasim Jaffer was quick to say, “Apart from Zaheer [Khan]. We’re happy to have Ajinkya back; he is going to be a big boost to us. I think the coach probably asked him to play this game [as preparation] for [India’s tour to] Australia. He might play the third Test [against West Indies too] if India win the second Test; that’s what I think. That’s why he is coming here for match practice before he goes into a Test match.”

While speaking about Ajit Agarkar’s return to the team after an injury lay-off, Jaffer said, “He is fine, [he] played [the] Police Shield, bowled a few overs. This is going to be a big game for him because he is playing after a long time. He is an experienced campaigner. The last time he played against Karnataka he got five wickets in Mysore; plus he is useful with the bat.”

The Mumbai skipper felt chasing 530 against Rajasthan was a ‘big statement’ while appreciating the efforts of his team as they batted impressively on the third and fourth day of that game.

“They have been playing good cricket for [the last] three-four years,” he said about Karnataka, their next opponents. “Two of the best teams in this group are playing and one of them will go up in the table so it’s going to be a big game for us.”

Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar, too, was upbeat about the forthcoming encounter. “The team preparation is good. Both teams are in the same place. We are trying to play to our strengths. We won’t take any team lightly,” he said.

About the Brabourne pitch, he said, “[It is a] good batting track, if you play well you are definitely going to get runs.”

Speaking about KP Apanna, who got a total of 11 wickets against Railways in their previous game, Vinay said, “He is bowling really well.”

“Most of the batsmen are in really good nick. Pawan got a double hundred in the first match. [Stuart] Binny, Amit [Verma] and Robin [Uthappa] got hundred. On that wicket [Karnail Singh Stadium], getting a hundred is very difficult. It was turning and a bit slow.”

And does Manish Pandey’s below par performance worry him? “It is very early to say. He has played only two games.”