Ahead of India captain Rohit Sharma’s first Ranji Trophy match for the Mumbai team in a decade, Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has made special security and seating arrangements for as many as 500 people. This will be Rohit's first Ranji outing for Mumbai since November 2015.

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Defending champions Mumbai will begin the second leg of the Ranji Trophy at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy in BKC against Jammu and Kashmir, starting on Thursday (Jan 23). Rohit was named in Mumbai's 17-member squad along with fellow Test opener Yashasvi Jaiswal after Rohit confirmed his participation in domestic cricket.

Interestingly, Rohit will enter an elite list as he will be the first Test captain after Anil Kumble to play in a Ranji Trophy game in the last 17 years.

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The MCA is expecting a huge crowd turnout at their BKC facility for Rohit's comeback match. However, seating arrangements can accommodate only up to 500 people at the venue where the Mumbai team has regularly played its league games in the Ranji Trophy.

“Additional security has been arranged and we have also increased the sitting capacity of fans up to 500,” a MCA official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Happy that Rohit is playing in Ranji: Gavaskar

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Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar was happy to learn that Rohit was returning to the Ranji Trophy. “Yes, it’s a good thing because, look, he didn’t get runs in Australia, so he knows he needs to spend time out in the middle. How much net practice you have or however many throwdowns you face, batting in a game, feeling the ball in the middle of the bat, knowing that a mistake will send you back to the pavilion, and then still scoring runs is a big, big difference,” Sunil Gavaskar said in an interview.

Mumbai are currently ranked third in Elite Group A, trailing table-toppers Baroda and second-placed Jammu and Kashmir.

(With inputs from agencies)