Mumbai will be captained by veteran Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane in the next Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), which is set to take place from November 23 to December 5.

After having ankle surgery, fast bowler Tushar Deshpande is now recovering. The 29-year-old, who excelled for Chennai Super Kings in the 2024 Indian Premier League and was instrumental in Mumbai’s victory in the Ranji Trophy earlier this year, is anticipated to return to the side for the Ranji Trophy’s second leg beginning on January 23.

Mumbai’s speed attack, which hopes to present a strong team that includes Juned, Mohit, and Shardul Thakur, will benefit from Deshpande’s comeback.

“Our team’s leader in the SMAT will be Ajinkya. He has been doing a great job managing the team, and we have seen success in both the current Ranji season and the Irani Cup. We need Tushar to return for the second leg of the Ranji Trophy, and he is recuperating at the NCA in Bengaluru. To guarantee optimum strength with Tushar, Shardul, Juned, and Mohit, we are keeping with our key players,” the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) official told IANS.

The return of Prithvi Shaw is one of the main features for Mumbai’s SMAT team. Due to fitness and disciplinary concerns, the 25-year-old, who has played for India in five Test matches, six ODIs, and one T20I, was left out of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy team.

Shaw was one of Mumbai’s 28 probables for the SMAT, nevertheless. On November 24, the opener will return to action in Hyderabad against Goa, opening the batting alongside Angkrish Raghuvanshi.

Ayush Mhatre, a young, talented batter who just scored his second first-class century against Services at Palam, will regrettably be unable to participate in the event as he has been selected for India’s U19 team for the ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup 2024. On November 23, he will go with the team.

The SMAT is a part of a busy domestic season that will also see the 50-overs Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Ranji Trophy split into two legs.

Prithvi Shaw, Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Jay Bista, Shreeraj Gharat, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge, Ishan Mulchandani, Siddesh Lad, Hardik Tamore (work), Aakash Anand (work), Sairaj Patil, Akash Parkar, Shams Mulani, Himanshu Singh, Sagar Chhabria, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, Sylvester Dsouza, Royston Dias, Yogesh Patil, Harsh Tanna, Irfan Umair, Vinayak Bhoir, Krutik Hanagavadi, Shashank Attarde, Juned Khan.