Nitish Rana has been appointed as the captain of Delhi for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which kicks off across various centres on November 26.
This marks Rana's first appearance for Delhi in the ongoing domestic season after he returned from a stint with Uttar Pradesh. Despite missing out on a place in Delhi's Ranji Trophy squad earlier this season, Rana now gets the responsibility to lead the side in the T20 competition.
Delhi, who have been unable to secure an outright win so far in the Ranji Trophy, currently sit sixth in Elite Group D with eight points from five matches under the alternating leadership of Ayush Badoni and Yash Dhull. The 2017-18 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy champions will be eager to rediscover their form with Rana at the helm.
His appointment also completes a sort of homecoming after joining the Delhi Capitals for IPL 2026 through a trade from Rajasthan Royals.
Meanwhile, leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi has missed out on selection in the 23-member squad, though it remains unclear if an injury is the reason behind his omission.
The DDCA confirmed that fast bowlers Ishant Sharma, Harshit Rana, and Navdeep Saini will link up with the team depending on their availability. Coached by former India spinner Sarandeep Singh, Delhi have been placed in Group D alongside Jharkhand, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra, and Tripura. All of Delhi's matches in the tournament will be played in Ahmedabad.
Delhi squad for SMAT 2025
Nitish Rana (captain), Priyansh Arya, Sarthak Ranjan, Ayush Badoni, Arpit Rana, Ayush Doseja, Mayank Rawat, Tejasvi (wk), Anuj Rawat (wk), Himmat Singh, Yash Dhull, Simarjeet Singh, Rahul Dagar, Yash Bhatia, Ankit Rajesh Kumar, Harsh Tyagi, Suyash Sharma, Prince Yadav, Money Grewal, Rohan Rana, Dhruv Kaushik, Aryan Rana, Vaibhav Kandpal.
(with PTI inputs)
