LSG superstar ignored as Nitish Rana to lead Delhi in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26

Indian batter Nitish Rana has been rewarded with Delhi captaincy for the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), while Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) wrist-spinner Digvesh Rathi has missed out on selection for the domestic competition, which will start from November 26. 

Delhi Group in SMAT

Delhi who are placed in Elite Group D alongside Jharkhand, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra, and Tripura will play all their matches in Ahmedabad.  The team has won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy only once - in the 2017–18 season under the captaincy of Pradeep Sangwan.

Rana's first outing for Delhi

This will be the first time for Nitish Rana to feature for Delhi in the ongoing domestic season after moving on from Uttar Pradesh and not featuring in the playing eleven for the first half of the Ranji Trophy, where the side was unable to win any matches. Notably, apart from leading Delhi in the SMAT, the batter has also become a part of the Delhi Capitals (DC) ahead of IPL 2026 following his trade from the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Rana's last cricketing outing came in the Delhi Premier League, where he scored 134 not out, 45 not out, and 79 not out to help West Delhi Lions win the title. 

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Ishant Sharma, Navdeep Saini and Harshit Rana subject to fitness

India veteran pacer Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini are also part of the squad, but their selection is subject to availability as he is reportedly recovering from an injury and were present for rehab at the BCCI CoE facility in Bengaluru. Apart from that, Harshit Rana is also subject to availability; it's more to do with him being in the fray for selection in India’s upcoming white-ball games – three ODIs and five T20Is against South Africa. Opener Priyansh Arya and leg-spinner Suyash Sharma will join the Delhi side after India A's campaign in the Rising Asia Cup in Doha ended in a lame semi-final defeat to Bangladesh A.

Delhi SMAT squad

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 and Vaibhav Kandpal.