Suryakumar Yadav to lead Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as Shardul Thakur returns

Mumbai have handed their Twenty20 captaincy to India's World Cup-winning skipper, with Shardul Thakur fit again and Siddhesh Lad left out of the white-ball squad

Suryakumar Yadav will lead Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the Mumbai Cricket Association confirmed on Monday, naming a 16-man squad picked by a senior selection committee headed by Rajesh Pawar.

The appointment splits Mumbai's captaincy across formats. Siddhesh Lad, who has led the side through its Ranji Trophy campaign, is not in the T20 squad, and Suryakumar inherits a team that has won all four of its red-ball matches this season.

The squad leaves for Kolkata on November 11 and opens against Hyderabad on November 14.

Suryakumar takes the white-ball job

"It is always a matter of immense pride to represent Mumbai," Suryakumar said after being named captain. "We have a good mix of experienced players and exciting young talent, and I am confident that the team will come together, play with intensity and give its best in every match. Our aim is to go all the way and bring the trophy home."

The association said he brought "vast international experience, leadership and explosive batting prowess" to the side.

He led India to the T20 World Cup title earlier this year and has since been left out of the national side after a lean run with the bat.

A season spent away from Mumbai's teams

Suryakumar was not part of Mumbai's Ranji Trophy plans in October, his lack of recent red-ball cricket given as the reason, and he has been turning out for MIG Cricket Club in the MCA President's Cup.

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy returns him to the format he has built his international career in, and to a Mumbai dressing room he has not been part of this season.

Mumbai played practice matches on November 7 and 9 before the squad was settled.

Thakur back from a fractured finger

Shardul Thakur is included after recovering from a fracture to his middle finger, the injury that kept him out of the first leg of the Ranji Trophy.

Shivam Dube and Sarfaraz Khan are both in, alongside Tushar Deshpande, Shams Mulani and Musheer Khan. Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Hardik Tamore are the two wicketkeepers.

Divyansh Saxena, Suved Parkar, Sairaj Patil, Atharva Ankolekar, Maxwell Swaminathan, Mohit Avasthi and Sylvester Dsouza complete the 16.

Two Mumbai players away in Doha

Suryansh Shedge and Tanush Kotian are unavailable, both on India A duty at the Rising Stars tournament in Doha from November 19 to 29.

That competition, played in Qatar under Tilak Varma, runs through the middle of the group stage and has thinned several state squads.

Mumbai are drawn in Elite Group D alongside Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Hyderabad, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Vidarbha.

Absences shape other squads

Hardik Pandya is missing from Baroda's squad, still working through a tibial bone stress injury at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. His brother Krunal Pandya continues to lead Baroda, with Atit Sheth as his deputy, in an Elite Group A that also holds defending champions Jharkhand, Bengal, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Mizoram.

Bihar have named Vaibhav Sooryavanshi captain for a single match, against Saurashtra in Indore on November 14, before he leaves for Doha, making him the youngest player to captain a side in T20 cricket.

"He agreed to lead the side in the first match, and we have decided to hand him the captaincy. After the first match, however, he will not be available," said Harvinder Singh, Bihar's chief selector.

The Super League stage begins on November 30, with the final scheduled for December 6.

Mumbai begin against Hyderabad in Kolkata on November 14, with Suryakumar leading a side unbeaten in the Ranji Trophy this season.