Mumbai

Prominent India players such as Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Suryakumar Yadav will not compete in at least the first two matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy as the selectors are keen to blood youngsters in the Mumbai side.

Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube will also miss the initial games.

"Rohit, Jaiswal, Dube and even Rahane will not be a part of the Mumbai squad for at least first two matches as the selection panel is going ahead with a young squad," Mumbai chief selector Sanjay Patil told PTI.

"Yashasvi is undergoing treatment for a stomach issue and he should be alright soon. We thought that the youngsters should be given a chance. But whenever they will be available, they will be accommodated," he said.

"But for the first two matches we are experimenting with youngsters," Patil added.

The elite division of the 50-over tournament will be held from December 24 to January 8 in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jaipur and Bengaluru while the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru will host the knockout matches from January 12-18.

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Mumbai are placed in Group C along with Punjab, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Goa and Himachal Pradesh.

Mumbai will take on Sikkim on the opening day of the tournament on December 24.