The opening day of the Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Jammu & Kashmir at Srinagar took off with an uncertain start as the BCCI scorers had reportedly mixed up the names of Mumbai batsmen and brothers Sarfaraz Khan and Musheer Khan.

The scorers apparently mistook Musheer for Sarfaraz and recorded his score as 0 at the Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, 15th October.

According to social media posts, the official scorecard on the BCCI website initially showed Sarfaraz Khan opening the batting for Mumbai and being dismissed for a duck by Jammu and Kashmir fast bowler Auqib Nabi. However, it later emerged that it was actually Musheer who had opened the batting and was dismissed as early as the third delivery on the opening day of the contest.

The BCCI quickly realised the error and corrected the scorecard, replacing Sarfaraz’s name with Musheer’s. Nevertheless, the slip-up led many on social media to wonder why Mumbai would send Sarfaraz to open the batting when the talented batter is seeking a return to the Indian Test team as a middle-order player.

While Musheer fell early, young Ayush Mhatre and former captain Ajinkya Rahane steadied the innings with a 61-run stand. However, their partnership did not flourish further, as Yudhvir Singh dismissed Mhatre in the 19th over before striking again in the 23rd to remove Rahane for 27.

Eventually, Sarfaraz walked out to bat at No. 5 and struck three boundaries early in his innings, transferring the pressure back onto Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir will be looking to make an impact in the Ranji Trophy season opener, buoyed by their victory over Mumbai late last season. J&K had defeated a star-studded Mumbai side at the BKC ground in a match that saw Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal feature for the Ranji powerhouses. Mumbai, however, will be aiming to regain their lost glory this season. Having released opener Prithvi Shaw to Maharashtra, the 42-time champions are being led by all-rounder Shardul Thakur.