Digvesh Rathi kicked out as Nitish Rana set to lead Delhi in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025

Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) has announced the squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025, which is set to kick off on Wednesday (November 26).

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) selectors have made a controversial call to snub the star leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi for the T20 tournament.

DDCA ignored Digvesh Rathi for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025

Recently, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) showed faith in Digvesh Rathi following his remarkable debut season earlier this year and retained the spinner for the upcoming IPL 2026. Yet, the Delhi selectors felt Rathi was not required for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025.

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DDCA’s move stunned many. Digvesh Rathi has so far played 15 T20s and scalped 17 wickets at an average of 26.35, an economy rate of 7.59, and a strike rate of 20.8. In the IPL 2025, the leg-spinner played 13 matches for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and took 14 wickets.

Nitish Rana named Delhi captain for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025

Meanwhile, DDCA has named the senior batter Nitish Rana the Delhi captain for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. Rana, who recently moved from Uttar Pradesh, will also play for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL 2026, and this move also played a role in getting him the captaincy.

Ayush Badoni, who has been leading the Delhi side in multiple formats, is also part of the SMAT squad. Veteran pacers Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini have also been named, but their participation depends on fitness, as both are recovering from injuries at the BCCI CoE.

Harshit Rana’s availability is also uncertain, as he is in the mix for the upcoming three-match ODI series and five-match T20I series against South Africa at home. Young talents like Priyansh Arya and leg-spinner Suyash Sharma will also join the side for the tournament. Other key players include Simarjeet Singh, Anuj Rawat, and Prince Yadav, many with IPL experience.

Digvesh Rathi ignored for SMAT 2025 after a spat with Nitish Rana!!

Notably, Nitish Rana comes in with strong form from the Delhi Premier League 2025 (DPL 2025), scoring 134*, 45*, and 79* to help West Delhi Lions win the title. The tournament also saw a heated exchange between Rana and Digvesh Rathi, and now he is not part of the SMAT squad.

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Well, Delhi’s management and selectors, including Yashpal Singh, K. Bhaskar Pillai, Manu Nayar, head coach Sarandeep Singh, CAC Chairman Vijay Dahiya, and DDCA Secretary Ashok Sharma, have backed Rana for the captaincy for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025.

Delhi is slotted in the Elite Group D alongside Jharkhand, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra, and Tripura, with all matches in Ahmedabad. The Delhi team has won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy only once, and that was back in 2017–18 under Pradeep Sangwan.

Here’s Delhi Squad for SMAT 2025:

Nitish Rana (C), Arpit Rana, Priyansh Arya, Sarthak Ranjan, Ayush Badoni, Ayush Doseja, Mayank Rawat, Tejasvi, Anuj Rawat, Yash Dhull, Himmat Singh, Rohan Rana, Dhruv Kaushik, Aryan Rana, Vaibhav Khandpal, Simarjeet Singh, Rahul Dagar, Yash Bhatia, Ankit Rajesh Kumar, Harsh Tyagi, Suyash Sharma, Prince Yadav, and Money Grewal.

Subject to availability: Ishant Sharma, Harshit Rana, and Navdeep Saini.

Digvesh Rathi is good enough for LSG to retain him, yet somehow not good enough for the Delhi selectors. #CricketTwitter https://t.co/8Kt1iuai1V

— Pratyush Raj (@pratyush93_raj) November 22, 2025