MUMBAI: A day after TOI exclusively reported that Mumbai’s top-order batsman and left-arm spinner Musheer Khan had suffered a fracture in a serious road accident in Uttar Pradesh while travelling from his native place Azamgarh with his father-cum-coach Naushad Khan for the Irani Cup match at Lucknow between Mumbai and Rest of India, the Mumbai Cricket Association issued a detailed medical update on the talented 19-year-old allrounder, saying that Musheer “suffered a fracture in the neck region, but is currently stable, and hospitalized in a hospital in Lucknow.He will be flown to Mumbai for further evaluation and additional medical treatment.”
Musheer is the younger brother of India’s Test batsman Sarfaraz Khan.
In the statement, MCA secretary Abhay Hadap mentioned: “Musheer Khan, a 19-year-old top-order batter and left-arm spinner, met with a road accident on Friday, while traveling with his family from Azamgarh to Lucknow to participate in the upcoming Irani Cup, scheduled from 1st to 5th October 2024. Musheer is currently admitted to a hospital in Lucknow, where he remains stable, conscious, and well-oriented. He has sustained a fracture in the neck region and is under close observation. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the MCA medical teams are closely monitoring his progress to ensure he receives the best possible care. Once Musheer is deemed medically fit for travel, he will be flown to Mumbai for further evaluation and additional medical treatment. The timeline for his recovery will be determined following these assessments.”
In what is a big blow to Mumbai just ahead of the 2024-25 domestic season, the sad development, which could keen Musher out of the game for atleast three months, if not more, means that the talented teenaged allrounder is now set to miss the Irani Cup tie against ROI at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, as well as the initial rounds of the Ranji Trophy, which is set to begin from October 11.
With Musheer out, Ayush may make Mumbai debut in Irani Cup tie
With 15 players still available for selection and Sarfaraz set to join the team soon in Lucknow, the Mumbai selectors are unlikely to name a replacement for the injured Musheer Khan. In place of Musheer, who was set to open the Mumbai innings with Prithvi Shaw, Mumbai are now likely to give a debut cap to another teenaged batsman-talented opener Ayush Mhatre. The 17-year-old, who hails from Virar, had put in an impressive performance for Mumbai as an opener in the recently-held Dr (Capt) K Thimmappiah Memorial Tournament, where he scored 271 runs in three matches@67.75, including one century (173 against Gujarat) and one fifty.
