M Vijay set to play against Mumbai

M Vijay is set to play Tamil Nadu's Ranji Trophy fixture against Mumbai beginning on Thursday, as he seeks to get some game time after being out of action for nearly two months with a hamstring injury.

A TNCA official confirmed the development and said Vijay would join the team, which has already reached Mumbai, "latest on Tuesday morning." Vijay has been training at IIT-Chemplast, his home ground in the Chennai first division league, and the facility at the NCA.

This will be Vijay's first competitive match before the start of India's Test series against South Africa, beginning in Mohali on November 5. He could also feature in Tamil Nadu's game against Railways beginning on October 30, or choose to play the two-day match between Board President's XI and the South Africans, also starting on the same day.

Vijay missed the first and third Tests in Sri Lanka due to the injury, but contributed 0 and 82 in India's 278-run win at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. He has been one of India's most dependable batsmen over the last two years, forging a strong alliance with Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order.

Tamil Nadu, however, will not have the services of batting allrounder Vijay Shankar, who is recovering from an injured shoulder that also kept him out of their first two matches. Shankar, who is not travelling with the team, will be assessed by TNCA's physio on Tuesday morning to determine his availability for future games.

Vijay replaces K Bharat Shankar in the squad, who will lead the Tamil Nadu U-23 team in the CK Nayudu Trophy in their game against Bengal in Kolkata.