Ranji Trophy: Injury to Ayush Mhatre sours Mumbai's win
toi
newspoint|14-10-2026
MUMBAI: Mumbai’s emphatic start to the Ranji Trophy season has been hit by a major injury setback, with newly appointed vice-captain Ayush Mhatre ruled out for at least a month due to a recurrence of his right hamstring injury. The 19-year-old opener is set to miss Mumbai’s remaining three matches in the first phase of the Ranji Trophy after suffering the injury during his 48-run knock on Day One of the opener against Chandigarh at the Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai won the match by an innings and 155 runs on Tuesday, collecting a bonus point, but Mhatre’s injury took the sheen off the result. “Ayush has suffered a Grade 4 tear of his right hamstring. He should be out for at least one to one-and-a-half months,” a source in the Mumbai Cricket Association told TOI on Tuesday.
A medical expert, however, said a Grade 4 hamstring tear usually indicates a severe injury. “If it’s a Grade 4 hamstring tear, it usually requires surgery. He could be out for nothing less than four to six months,” the expert told this paper.
The recurrence of Mhatre’s injury has again brought into focus the role of the medical team at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, where he had undergone rehabilitation for injuries to both his left and right hamstrings for almost three months. He had been ruled out of action since the second half of the IPL while playing for Chennai Super Kings.
The injury is a significant setback for Mhatre, who had only recently been named Siddhesh Lad ’s deputy for the Ranji Trophy by the Mumbai selectors. The top-order batter had earlier suffered a left hamstring injury while playing for CSK, which kept him out for nearly five months. He missed the T20 Mumbai tournament in June, the India A tour to Sri Lanka and the Duleep Trophy in August. A subsequent right hamstring injury further delayed his comeback.
After sustaining the latest injury, Mhatre did not take the field on Days Two and Three of the Ranji opener. He underwent scans on Monday, with substitute Suved Parkar fielding in his place.
“It’s unfortunate because he had just returned from another hamstring injury. He looks very sad. He worked very hard during rehab. He was doing rehab with me only at MCA-BKC. He used to come from Virar just to do his rehab and then go back,” Mumbai captain Siddhesh Lad told reporters after Mumbai’s win.
“So, it happens. It’s part of the game. But we will try to motivate him. It seems he will not be with the team for some time now. The way he was limping in the match, it does not look like he will be available for the second or third match,” Lad added.
Lad said the injury occurred while Mhatre was running between the wickets. “We had two or three simulations and club games, and also played at BKC. He was looking fine for the last three-four matches, but all of a sudden, he felt something in his hamstring while taking a second run,” Lad said.
At the pre-season news conference, Mhatre had spoken about his long injury layoff and preparation for the season. “I was at the CoE for three months. The preparation is going really well,” he had said.
When he first suffered the injury on April 18 during CSK’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mhatre was CSK’s leading run-scorer in the tournament, with 201 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 177.87.
Brief Scores: Mumbai 429 bt Chandigarh 78 &196 (Bhambri 44; Mulani 3-69, Kotian 3-30, Deshpande 2-37) by an innings and 155 runs.
Mumbai won the match by an innings and 155 runs on Tuesday, collecting a bonus point, but Mhatre’s injury took the sheen off the result. “Ayush has suffered a Grade 4 tear of his right hamstring. He should be out for at least one to one-and-a-half months,” a source in the Mumbai Cricket Association told TOI on Tuesday.
A medical expert, however, said a Grade 4 hamstring tear usually indicates a severe injury. “If it’s a Grade 4 hamstring tear, it usually requires surgery. He could be out for nothing less than four to six months,” the expert told this paper.
The recurrence of Mhatre’s injury has again brought into focus the role of the medical team at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, where he had undergone rehabilitation for injuries to both his left and right hamstrings for almost three months. He had been ruled out of action since the second half of the IPL while playing for Chennai Super Kings.
The injury is a significant setback for Mhatre, who had only recently been named Siddhesh Lad ’s deputy for the Ranji Trophy by the Mumbai selectors. The top-order batter had earlier suffered a left hamstring injury while playing for CSK, which kept him out for nearly five months. He missed the T20 Mumbai tournament in June, the India A tour to Sri Lanka and the Duleep Trophy in August. A subsequent right hamstring injury further delayed his comeback.
After sustaining the latest injury, Mhatre did not take the field on Days Two and Three of the Ranji opener. He underwent scans on Monday, with substitute Suved Parkar fielding in his place.
“It’s unfortunate because he had just returned from another hamstring injury. He looks very sad. He worked very hard during rehab. He was doing rehab with me only at MCA-BKC. He used to come from Virar just to do his rehab and then go back,” Mumbai captain Siddhesh Lad told reporters after Mumbai’s win.
“So, it happens. It’s part of the game. But we will try to motivate him. It seems he will not be with the team for some time now. The way he was limping in the match, it does not look like he will be available for the second or third match,” Lad added.
Lad said the injury occurred while Mhatre was running between the wickets. “We had two or three simulations and club games, and also played at BKC. He was looking fine for the last three-four matches, but all of a sudden, he felt something in his hamstring while taking a second run,” Lad said.
At the pre-season news conference, Mhatre had spoken about his long injury layoff and preparation for the season. “I was at the CoE for three months. The preparation is going really well,” he had said.
When he first suffered the injury on April 18 during CSK’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mhatre was CSK’s leading run-scorer in the tournament, with 201 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 177.87.
Brief Scores: Mumbai 429 bt Chandigarh 78 &196 (Bhambri 44; Mulani 3-69, Kotian 3-30, Deshpande 2-37) by an innings and 155 runs.
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