Tendulkar to play Ranji quarter-final against Baroda

Mumbai's Ranji Trophy campaign would be boosted by the availability of Sachin Tendulkar to play in their quarter final game against Baroda here from January 6-10.

"He will play against Baroda and the team will be selected the day after tomorrow," informed Mumbai Cricket Association's joint secretary and meeting convener Nitin Dalal today.

Tendulkar has retired from the ODI format and is free to play all the knock-out games for Mumbai provided the 39-time champions make it to the summit clash.

It would be Tendulkar's second outing for his state this season after having played against Railways in the lung opener here at the Wankhede Stadium in November.

The semi finals of the national championship are scheduled from January 16-20 and the final is slated from January 26-30.

Meanwhile, Mumbai are yet to know whether key speedster Zaheer Khan would be available for selection against Baroda. The senior left arm bowler injured his leg while batting in their last league game against Gujarat at Navi Mumbai's D Y Patil Stadium.

"I will come to know about Zaheer's availability only after talking to the team physio," Dalal told PTI.

Mumbai, however, could be without the services of Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma, who are currently part of the ODI squad taking on Pakistan.