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Mohammed Siraj has been appointed as the captain of the Hyderabad cricket team for the upcoming season of the Ranji Trophy. On September 11, the HCA Senior Selection Committee named the India National Cricket Team fast bowler as the captain of the state team, with Chama Milind as his deputy. Milind will lead the team in the match or matches in the absence of Siraj.
The development grab the attention on late evening hours of Friday. The decision HCA took came after the 2026 Final of the Duleep Trophy. Mohammed Siraj, backed by years of cricket in the international arena with the Indian cricket team, gained some experience in leading Hyderabad in the previous season.
Mohammed Siraj as Hyderabad captain in Ranji Trophy 2026-27 season
The cricket governing body of Hyderabad asked Siraj to lead the team in the 2025-26 season, replacing Rahul Singh. Siraj was skipper of Hyderabad during their matches against Mumbai and Chhattisgarh. Both of those two matches were at home ground, and they failed to win either of those two matches.
Against Mumbai, the Mohammed Siraj-led team lost by 9 wickets. The match was mainly decided by Sarfaraz Khan, the middle-order batter of the Mumbai cricket team, who smashed a double century, and Siddhesh Lad’s ton in the first innings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
One win and one draw with captain Mohammed Siraj
Hyderabad was expected to win the game against Chhattisgarh, but it was again the away team that came from behind. For most of the match, the hosts were in control to win, but a century by Amandeep Khare on the final day of the match took the match to a draw at the Gymkhana Ground. The centuries by M. Abhirath, K. Jimateja and Pragnay Reddy were not enough to claim all of the points from the match for Hyderabad.
Only two matches are considerably not enough to judge someone's leadership qualities, so there is no wonder that the state team management has shown their trust again in Mohammed Siraj. It will be interesting to see how he will manage to carry the responsibilities of leading the team and leading the pace bowling department at once throughout the season.
Hyderabad will start Ranji Trophy 2026-27 campaign against Tripura
Hyderabad was in Group D of the previous season of the Elite Division of the Ranji Trophy. In the 8-team group, Hyderabad finished in the middle of the points table, at number four. The season was filled with a lot of highs and lows as they managed to win only one match, alongside two defeats and four draws.
This year, they are in Group B and are scheduled to start their journey on Sunday, October 11, with the match against Tripura. Hyderabad will try to start the session on a strong note, defeating Tripura in their opening match of the Ranji Trophy 2026-27. Eyes will be on Mohammed Siraj, as he will be on the ground as the full-time skipper of the team and if he can lead the side to the final.
