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Major setback for the Mumbai cricket team in the ongoing 2026-27 Ranji Trophy season. Mumbai's newly appointed vice-captain, Ayush Mhatre, is reportedly ruled out of several matches of the tournament's first leg because of a recurrence of his right hamstring injury.
According to a Times of India report, published on October 13, the young batter is unlikely to play within a month. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) named Ayush Mhatre as the vice-captain of the team to promote the young talent, and Siddhesh Lad as the captain. Mhatre joined the state team camp after recovering from a previous injury.
A fresh hamstring injury for Ayush Mhatre
The top-order attacking batter had earlier picked up a hamstring injury while playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which ruled him out of the second half of IPL 2026.
He got the latest hamstring injury while batting for Mumbai on the opening day of the first innings of the Ranji Trophy match against Chandigarh at the Wankhede Stadium. Mhatre was batting on 48 when he felt discomfort in his leg.
Both injuries occurred at times when the batter was in good form. His recent injury separated him from a well-deserved half-century in the red-ball format, and when he was injured in the IPL 2026 season, the former India U-19 captain was in explosive form with the Chennai Super Kings. With 201 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 177.87, Ayush Mhatre was CSK's leading run-scorer when he got the injury in the 2026 Indian Premier League season.
It took a long time to get back from the injury and to take preparations for the Ranji Trophy matches. As MCA appointed Mhatre as the vice-captain of the team, Indian cricket fans, especially the CSK fans, were expecting something special from the highly promising batter. The batter got the start, but the hamstring injury cut down the growth again.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi is likely to replace Ayush Mhatre
According to the Times of India report, the absence of the CSK batter could be an opportunity for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) prodigy Angkrish Raghuvanshi. The 22-year-old keeper-batter is likely to get a call-up to join the Mumbai cricket team ahead of their match against Himachal Pradesh, which will be held between October 18 and 21 in Bilashpur.
Raghuvanshi desrves call up as he performed brilliantly for the Mumbai U-23 team and for the Rest of India Under-23 team in the recent past. For the Rest of India Under-23 team against Tamil Nadu in Chennai, he scored 203, and for the Mumbai Under-23 team, Angkrish Raghuvanshi secured another double century to his name on Tuesday in Kolkata.
MCA will have make name new vice-captain
Official confirmations and details are yet to come on Ayush Mhatre's injury. MCA will have to make changes in the leadership roles following the setback. It will be interesinting to see who will replace Mahtre as Mumbai's vice-captain.
Experienced pace bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur is another big name who is currently not part of the team, and is set to miss the next match as well because of an injury.
