Ranji Trophy: Karun Nair returns for quarters against Mumbai

Bengaluru: A fit-again Karun Nair on Monday returned to the Karnataka squad for the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals against arch-rivals Mumbai at the BKC ground from February 6-10, with the eight-time winners also bolstered by India pacer Prasidh Krishna.

Nair, who split his webbing on the left hand during the penultimate Elite Group B game against Madhya Pradesh in Alur, sat out of the final game against Punjab in Mohali where Karnataka produced a chase for the ages to secure their last-eight ticket against all odds.

Veteran Nair's return along with the presence of his long-time friends KL Rahul, who played against Punjab, and Mayank Agarwal now gives the Karnataka batting order a hefty look for the crunch game.

Add new captain Devdutt Padikkal, who smashed a scintillating 120 not out off 85 balls as Karnataka scaled down 252 in just 27.5 overs on Sunday against Punjab, and R Smaran, Karnataka will be brimming with confidence.

Pacer Vyshak Vijaykumar win miss out against because of injury but Karnataka have been strengthened by Prasidh.              

Squad: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Aneesh KV, Devdutt Padikkal (captain), Karun Nair, R Smaran, Shreyas Gopal, Kruthik Krishna (WK), Venkatesh M, Vidyadhar Patil, Prasidh Krishna, Mohsin Khan, Shikhar Shetty, Shrijith KL (WK), Vidwath Kaverappa.

Dhruv returns

Having spent time with the senior squad during their sensational win over Punjab in the final Ranji Trophy group game, Dhruv Prabhakar returned to the Karnataka U-23 side for their Col CK Nayudu fixture against hosts Uttarakhand (February 6) and Himachal Pradesh (February 13). 

Squad: Prakhar Chaturvedi, Faizan Khan (wk), KP Karthikeya, Dhruv Prabhakar (vc), Aneeshwar Gautam (c), Harshil Dharmani, Hardik Raj, Yashovardhan Parantap, Manvanth Kumar L, Dhanush Gowda, Samit Dravid, Karthik SU, Shashikumar, Sanjay Ashwin (wk), Monish Reddy.

Coaching squad: Coach: Ganesh Satish, Assistant Coach: Deepak Chougule, Manager: S Babu, Strength & Conditioning Coach: Mr. Kiran A, Physiotherapist: Vijay Mudgal, Performance Analyst: Kiran Kudtarkar, Masseur: Shantinath Patil