India all-rounder Shardul Thakur has been appointed as the new captain of the Mumbai team for the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season, succeeding Ajinkya Rahane, who stepped down from the position to focus on his batting. The announcement was made by the Mumbai Cricket Association, which also revealed a 24-member probable squad for the upcoming campaign.
The 33-year-old Thakur, a key figure for both India and Mumbai in domestic cricket, brings leadership experience, having recently captained West Zone in the Duleep Trophy. Thakur's ability with both bat and ball has been crucial, amassing 302 wickets and 2,688 runs in 97 first-class matches.
Several noteworthy changes feature in the Mumbai squad, including the omission of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was earlier
reported to be continuing with Mumbai after dropping plans of a move to Goa. Wicketkeeper-batter Pragyan Kundu also misses out despite recent strong performances at the youth level, while Ajinkya Rahane and Sarfaraz Khan are included among the probables, although Sarfaraz is in recovery from injury.
Thakur's Mumbai will look to reclaim the Ranji Trophy, starting their campaign against Jammu & Kashmir on October 15. The squad blends emerging talents like Musheer Khan and Angkrish Raghuvanshi with established stars. The Mumbai selectors expressed confidence in Thakur's leadership and are hopeful of a successful season with his guidance.
Mumbai 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 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.
