Indian Test opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal are set to open innings for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir in their second phase of Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match at MCA’s Bandra Kurla complex from Thursday.

When asked if Rohit and Jaiswal would open for Mumbai, Rahane confirmed it hilariously “is this even a question? Mumbai have a star studded batting line-up with Shreyas Iyer, Ajinka Rahane and possibly Siddesh Lad in the middle-order. Allrounder Shivam Dube is also there and so is seamer Shardul Thakur. From day two onward the responsibility will be more on spinners Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh or Shams Mulani to do the job for Mumbai. Hardik Tamore is the wicket-keeper batter.

This is possibly a full strength Mumbai squad that Jammu and Kashmir has to face. Still Mumbai are without Suryakumar Yadav who is leading the Indian T20 side against England and Sarfaraz Khan who is reportedly not available due to injury.

Mumbai have bounced back after losing first game to Baroda but the break of over one and half month must have broken the momentum. During that time all the teams were playing white-ball cricket (Mushtaq Ali T20 and Vijay Hazare Trophy). However, Mumbai skipper Rahane was confident that Mumbai will be able adapt well.

“For any cricketer, getting match preparation, game-time is really important. We played five league games and then white-ball cricket. The challenge is to adapt quickly as a team because everyone has been playing white-ball cricket since last one-and-a-half-months. For us as a team, it's important to be in the moment, focus on our strengths," Rahane said.

“In red-ball, we've been doing really good as a team so it's all about staying in the moment, not too much thinking about the result and outcome," he said.

Auqib threat

Jammu and Kashmir are placed a notch ahead of Mumbai in Group standing largely due to their bowling attack. Auqib Nabi has led the charge. The right arm pacer from North Kashmir has taken 32 wickets in five games and is the second most wicket taker this Ranji season. In-form Auqib will test Mumbai batters early on with his swinging deliveries. In the batting department vice captain Shubham Khajuria will be the key along with experienced captain Paras Dogra and middle-order batsman Abdul Samad.

The match has generated buzz with the presence of star players and visitors are keen to steal the limelight. Elaborate security arrangements, enhanced seating capacity and other measures have been taken by the MCA to ensure a smooth outing for players and fans.

Mumbai Squad: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ayush Mhatre, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad, Shivam Dube, Hardik Tamore (WK), Akash Anand (WK), Tanush Kotian, Shams Mulani, Himanshu Singh, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Awasthi, Sylvester Dsouza, Royston Dias, Karsh Kothari

J&K squad: Paras Dogra (C), Shubham Khajuria (VC), Kanhaiya Wadhawan (WK), Auqib Nabi, Vivrant Sharma, Yawer Hassan, Abdul Samad, Sahil Lotra, Abid Mushtaq, Yudhvir Singh, Umar Nazir, Nasir Lone, Sunil Kumar, Vanshaj Sharma, Waseem Bashir.