Siddhesh Lad replaces Shardul Thakur as Mumbai Ranji Trophy captain
What's the story
Siddhesh Lad will lead Mumbai in the 2026/27 Ranji Trophy season, taking over from Shardul Thakur. The decision was confirmed by Rajesh Pawar, chairman of the Mumbai senior selection committee. He said that both players were consulted before finalizing this change. The move comes after a stellar domestic season for Lad, who was Mumbai's top batsman in the last Ranji Trophy campaign.
Captaincy rationale
Pawar explains reasons behind the change
Pawar explained the rationale behind appointing Lad as captain, saying they wanted to ensure continuity in leadership while also managing players' workloads.
He added that Thakur is a key player for Mumbai but has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders.
"We don't want to burden him with the responsibility of captaincy," Pawar said, adding that both players were positive about this change.
Career highlights
A look at their FC stats
Lad has had an impressive first-class career, scoring 5,623 runs in 82 matches at an average of 44.27 with 15 centuries and 30 fifties.
In the 2025/26 Ranji Trophy, he scored 774 runs from eight matches at an average of 77.40. His conversion rate was brilliant - 5 tons and a half-century.
Meanwhile, Shardul is known to produce wickets at crucial junctures. He has 316 wickets and 2,828 runs in red-ball cricket.
The seam-bowling all-rounder has also played 13 Tests.
Campaign
Mumbai's Ranji campaign
Lad will now lead Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy season opener against Chandigarh from October 11.
Mumbai are placed in Elite Group D with teams like Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan, among others.
The team last won the Ranji Trophy in the 2023-24 season under Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy.