Suryakumar omitted as Ayush Mhatre named vice-captain for Mumbai's Ranji Trophy opener

Suryakumar Yadav was left out of Mumbai’s squad for their Ranji Trophy 2026-27 opening match against Chandigarh, which starts on October 11, while Ayush Mhatre was appointed vice-captain for the fixture.

Mumbai, the 42-time Ranji champions, have named a 16-player side for the four-day encounter that is likely to be held at Wankhede Stadium; the team are drawn in Elite Group D alongside Chandigarh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Railways, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand. Yashasvi Jaiswal was included in the squad as he prepares for the New Zealand tour later this month.

According to a Cricbuzz report, Suryakumar sent a message to the selectors expressing his desire to be part of the squad but the selection committee chose not to pick him for the tie. Mumbai chief selector Rajesh Pawar explained the decision to Cricbuzz: “He is obviously a big-match player and a proven performer for Mumbai. We just want him to get into rhythm by playing a few red-ball matches. Surya hasn’t played a red-ball match for the last 18 months, so we want him to have a few games under his belt and then he can get into the team.” Suryakumar has not played competitive cricket since the Mumbai T20 League in June and was removed as India’s T20I captain despite guiding the side to the T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year.

Ayush Mhatre, the Under-19 World Cup-winning captain, has been named vice-captain for the opener and is considered by selectors as a potential future captain, the Cricbuzz report states. The 19-year-old has featured in just 13 first-class matches over the past two years.

Several other selection notes accompanied the squad announcement: Shardul Thakur was absent while recovering from a finger injury; Sarfaraz Khan was included after turning out for Rest of India in their Irani Cup triumph over Jammu and Kashmir; and Shams Mulani earned a place following influential performances for India A in their two-match unofficial Test series against Australia A, which India A won 1-0.

Mumbai’s 16-member squad reads: Siddhesh Lad (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ayush Mhatre (VC),Divyansh Saxena, Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Suved Parkar, Aakash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Atharva Ankolekar, Tushar Deshpande, Mohit Awasthi, Sylvester Dsouza, Onkar Tarmale.

Mumbai will commence their Ranji Trophy campaign against Chandigarh in the four-day match beginning October 11, with the fixture likely to be staged at Wankhede Stadium.