Follow UsIndia speedster Shardul Thakur was named as captain of the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2025. He did not have a great outing, picking up no wickets, scoring 64 and 6 and not being able to progress ahead after conceding the first innings lead.
This was the brief of Thakur’s first match as official captain. Now, he has been handed an even more important role, leading the most successful domestic side, Mumbai, in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26.
The announcement of his captaincy was made by Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) on September 26 (Friday). The Ranji Trophy 2025-26 will begin with the first round of matches from October 15 onwards.
“The selection committee unanimously decided to appoint Shardul. He has shown he is a leader on and off the field. Let’s hope he will continue to lead the team from the front,” Sportstar quoted Sanjay Patil, chair of the senior selection committee of the MCA as saying.
Shardul, who has featured in 97 First-Class matches, including 13 Tests, will be aiming to win his fourth Ranji Trophy title and do it for the first time while captaining the side.
Among other members of the Mumbai team, Sarfaraz Khan, who suffered an injury during the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament, will be available for Mumbai’s first match against Jammu and Kashmir.
MCA also announced the probable list for Ranji Trophy 2025-26, not mentioning the international players in it, as they would be included as per their availability.
Mumbai Ranji Trophy Probables
Shardul Thakur (Capt.), Ayush Mhatre, Musheer Khan, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Akhil Herwadkar, Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan, Siddhesh Lad, Suved Parkar, Suryansh Shedge, Akash Parkar, Tushar Deshpande, Sylvester D’souza, Irfan Umair, Roystan Dias, Pratik Mishra, Akash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Prasad Pawar (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Atharva Ankolekar, Ishan Mulchandani.