Follow UsChennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad will make his return to competitive cricket in the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament in Tamil Nadu next week, having been named in Maharashtra’s squad.
However, the 28-year-old has not been named captain, and Maharashtra will instead be led by veteran batter Ankit Bawne. The decision to not appoint Gaikwad captain is likely to do with the fact that he will link-up with the West Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy.
Gaikwad last played professional cricket in April in the IPL, where he suffered an elbow injury that ruled him out of the majority of the competition.
Meanwhile, the Buchi Babu Tournament will mark the state debut of Prithvi Shaw, who has moved to Maharashtra from Mumbai. The 25-year-old, who is in desperate need of a turnaround, has been named in the 17-person squad. The squad also features highly rated young all-rounder Arshin Kulkarni, and CSK youngster Ramakrishna Ghosh.
Ankit Bawane (capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prithvi Shaw, Siddhesh Veer, Sachin Dhas, Arshin Kulkarni, Harshal Kate, Siddharth Mhatre, Saurabh Nawale (wk), Mandar Bhandari (wk), Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Pradeep Dadhe, Vicky Ostwal, Hitesh Walunj, Prashant Solanki, Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
Domestic heavyweights Mumbai are also featuring in the competition, and their squad will be led by young Ayush Mhatre.
Ayush Mhatre (capt), Musheer Khan, Divyansh Saxena, Sarfaraz Khan, Suved Parkar (vc), Pragnesh Kanpillewar, Harsh Aghav, Sairaj Patil, Aakash Parkar, Aakash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Shreyas Gurav, Yash Dicholkar, Himanshu Singh, Royston Dias, Sylvester D’ Souza, Irfan Umair