Shardul Thakur named captain, Sarfaraz Khan returns as Mumbai squad for Ranji Trophy 2025-26 announced
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The Mumbai Cricket Association has announced its probables for the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season, and as per expectations, the all-rounder Shardul Thakur has been named the skipper of the side.
Ajinkya Rahane had confirmed earlier that he would not be able to continue as the skipper of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team, and hence, the new skipper was to be named for the Ranji Trophy season.
Shardul Thakur named Mumbai's captain for the upcoming Ranji season
After Ajinkya Rahane announced his decision to step down from the role of Mumbai captain, it was under speculation that Shreyas Iyer might be roped in to lead the red-ball side. He has been the skipper of the white-ball side.
However, the batter had recently announced his decision to step away from red-ball cricket for a six-month period, as a result of which MCA has decided to announce Shardul Thakur as the new captain.
It was back in the last season that Shardul Thakur made his captaincy debut for Mumbai, having led them in two matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. However, this will be the first time that Shardul will lead a first-class team.
Sarfaraz Khan to return to action; Mumbai also back youngsters in the new season
On the other hand, Mumbai has other good news after an unconvincing season in the Indian domestic circuit. He hasn't played a competitive match since May and will finally be back in action for Mumbai for the upcoming season.
He has improved his fitness after being dropped from the Indian team as well. He lost 17 kilograms amid struggles with injuries and had missed the Duleep Trophy as well as the India A vs Australia A series. On top of this, he has not been selected for the India vs West Indies Test series in October.
Mumbai are also looking forward to the season, backing their youngsters Ayush Mhatre, Musheer Khan, and Angkirsh Raghuvanshi.
Mumbai Ranji Trophy 2025-26 Squad: Shardul Thakur (c), Ayush Mhatre, Musheer Khan, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Akhil Herwadkar, Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan, Siddhesh Lad, Suved Parkar, Suryansh Shedge, Akash Parkar, Tushar Deshpande, Sylvester Dsouza, Irfan Umair, Roystan Dias, Pratik Mishra, Akash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Prasad Pawar (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Atharva Ankolekar, and Ishan Mulchandani.
Shardul Thakur dropped from India XI after a disappointing run in the England series
Shardul Thakur was part of the India vs England series, which was held in the July-August window. The all-rounder played only in a few games for India and could not leave a positive impact on the series.
Neither could he contribute significantly with the bat nor was he effective with the ball in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. After the unconvincing form in the previous series against England, the speedster has been dropped from India's squad for the upcoming home series against the West Indies.
Now with added responsibilities, the Mumbai skipper would be looking forward to making a commanding return to the Indian side, ahead of the next home series against South Africa.
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Mumbai Ranji Team Mumbai Cricket Association Ranji Trophy Shardul Thakur Sarfaraz Khan Ajinkya Rahane India National Cricket Team
