Prithvi Shaw to face former team Mumbai in practice match
What's the story
Prithvi Shaw, the Indian cricketer who switched from Mumbai to Maharashtra after last season, will face his former team in a three-day practice match. The game will be held at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Gahunje from October 7-9. Shaw's move to Maharashtra was after last season, and he will be joined by all-rounder Jalaj Saxena for this match.
Team updates
Shreyas Iyer ruled out; free entry for fans
Mumbai will be led by India all-rounder Shardul Thakur, who is taking over the red-ball captaincy from Ajinkya Rahane. However, star batter Shreyas Iyer will not be part of the match due to a back injury. He was recently seen in the unofficial ODI matches for India A against Australia A. The Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) has announced free entry for fans to witness this exciting encounter between Shaw and his former team.
Squads
Here are the squads
Mumbai: Shardul Thakur, Musheer Khan, Akhil Herwadkar, Suved Parkar, Siddhesh Lad, Shivam Dube, Akash Anand, Hardik Tamore, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Irfan Umair, Sylvester D'Souza, Royston Dias. Maharashtra: Prithvi Shaw, Arshin Kulkarni, Siddhesh Veer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ankeet Bawane (c), Saurabh Nawale (wk), Jalaj Saxena, Vicky Ostwal, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Pradeep Dhade, Hitesh Walunj, Mandar Bhandari (wk), Harshal Kate, Siddharth Mhatre, Rajwardhan Hangargekar, Rajneesh Gurbani.
Mumbai
Mumbai's Ranji Trophy campaign opener
After this practice match, Mumbai are expected to announce their squad for the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy opener on October 10 or 11, as per TOI. The 42-time Ranji champions are in Elite Group D and will begin their season against Jammu and Kashmir at Srinagar's Sher-I-Kashmir Stadium from October 15-18. Other teams in Group D include Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Pondicherry.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra placed in Elite Group B
Maharashtra, on the other hand, have been placed in Elite Group B. The likes of Kerala, Saurashtra, Chandigarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Goa are placed in Elite Group B as well. Maharashtra will take on Kerala in the first match of the season at Thiruvananthapuram from October 15-18.