Mumbai and Haryana's Ranji quarterfinal shifted to Kolkata

Mumbai’s departure for their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal has been delayed after they were informed of a late change of venue by the BCCI. The squad was due to arrive in Lahli on Wednesday morning (February 5), where they were to play Haryana from Friday.

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is now looking to make arrangements for the team to fly out to Kolkata as soon as possible after being informed by the board on Tuesday evening. The development has also taken Haryana, the hosts, by surprise as the BCCI hasn’t cited any reasons for the late shift.

Haryana, like Mumbai, are expected to reach Kolkata late on Wednesday. ESPNcricinfo understands the weather in Lahli has been clear over the past few days, and the association had been confident of hosting the match at the Bansi Lal Stadium, which hosted all their three home games this season.

Like Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir too won’t have the home advantage after their quarterfinal against Kerala was shifted from Jammu to the MCA Stadium in Pune. Unlike Lahli, however, the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) is understood to have been concerned over the ground conditions due to harsh winter conditions and conveyed the same to the BCCI.

The JKCA had been keen on hosting the game in Mumbai or Ahmedabad but were informed of its unavailability, following which a decision was made to host the game in Pune.

The other two knockout games: Vidarbha v Tamil Nadu and Saurashtra v Gujarat will be played in Nagpur (Civil Lines Stadium) and Rajkot (Niranjan Shah Stadium) respectively as per the current norms, where the group topper gets to host.

Vidarbha’s 40 points owing to six outright wins in seven games are the most by any team in the group stages this season. Gujarat, meanwhile, have the third-most points (32), behind J&K’s 35 points.

Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo