The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) senior selection panel has named Shreyas Iyer as the captain of the Mumbai T20 team for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The selection committee convened on Sunday to finalize the squad for the domestic tournament, which is set to commence on November 23.
Iyer, who led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to an IPL title in the previous season, was considered the ideal choice for the role by the MCA selectors. His appointment as skipper means Ajinkya Rahane, currently leading Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy season, will play under Iyer in the shorter format. Sources revealed that Rahane had been informed of this decision in advance, with the selectors expressing their confidence in Iyer’s ability to lead in T20 cricket.
The committee also reinstated Prithvi Shaw, who had been dropped from the Ranji Trophy squad to focus on improving his fitness. After evaluating his progress, MCA deemed Shaw ready for the challenge, recognizing his potential in white-ball cricket.
“Iyer has been chosen to lead the Mumbai T20 team, and Shaw has been included as well. Rahane will play under Iyer’s captaincy, as the MCA believes Iyer is the ideal candidate for this format,” a source stated.
On the other hand, all-rounder Shivam Dube, Musheer Khan, and Tushar Deshpande were not considered due to ongoing injury recoveries, which the MCA viewed as a key factor in their exclusion from the squad.
The squad: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Prithvi Shaw, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Jay Bista, Ajinkya Rahane, Siddhesh Lad, Suryansh Shedge, Sairaj Patil, Hardik Tamore (wk), Aakash Anand (wk), Shams Mulani, Himanshu Singh, Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, Royston Dias, Juned Khan.
