In a significant development for domestic cricket, former India captain Rohit Sharma is set to make a comeback for Mumbai in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. However, the Mumbai squad announced on Friday will be without several other key Indian stars, including T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, and all-rounder Shivam Dube. The team for the prestigious domestic One-Day tournament will be led by seasoned all-rounder Shardul Thakur.
Star Presence and Notable Absences
Rohit Sharma will specifically play in Mumbai's first two group stage matches against Sikkim on December 24 and against Uttarakhand on December 26. Both games will be held in Jaipur. This move aligns with the BCCI's recent mandate requiring all current national team players to participate in at least two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches, barring injury or rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence. A similar directive has seen Virat Kohli slated to play for Delhi in the tournament.
Mumbai's senior selection committee chairman, Sanjay Patil, clarified the policy for India players. "All the India players will be accommodated in the Mumbai squad as and when they are available," Patil stated. The selection meeting was also attended by former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar, who serves as the Mumbai Cricket Association's men's cricket advisor.
The absence of Yashasvi Jaiswal is due to a medical reason. The young Test and ODI opener was hospitalized in Pune with acute gastroenteritis following Mumbai's last Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy match. "He will be included in the Mumbai squad once he gets clearance from the medical team," Patil confirmed. Reasons for Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube's exclusions were not specified in the initial squad announcement.
Squad Composition and Tournament Details
The Vijay Hazare Trophy group stage is scheduled from December 24, 2025, to January 8, 2026. Mumbai finds itself in Elite Group C, based in Jaipur, alongside Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Goa.
The selectors have handed a maiden call-up to opener Ishan Mulchandani. Young batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who had a modest Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with 49 runs in four matches, retains his place. In contrast, the prolific Sarfaraz Khan, who was in scintillating form in the SMAT by hammering 329 runs at an average of 65.80 and a strike rate of 203.80, is a key part of the squad. His younger brother, all-rounder Musheer Khan, has also been selected.
In another development, former India and Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane has requested rest from the initial league matches due to a hamstring issue. "He will join the Mumbai team after the first couple of matches," Patil explained.
Reflections on Recent Performance and Future
Despite Mumbai failing to defend their Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title, exiting in the Super League stage, Patil expressed satisfaction with the team's overall performance. "I'm quite happy with our performance. We won eight out of our 10 matches, which means that we played some good cricket. Everyone played well, especially Sarfaraz Khan. It's just that we suffered badly due to the Net Run Rate Rule," he said.
Mumbai won two of their three Super League matches but were eliminated because their Net Run Rate was inferior to other teams on equal points. The tournament rules calculated NRR from scratch for the Super League stage, using it as the primary tie-breaker over head-to-head records.
The domestic tournament serves as crucial preparation for the national team's next assignment—a three-match ODI series against New Zealand starting on January 11, 2026, in Vadodara. The participation of stars like Rohit Sharma in the Vijay Hazare Trophy is expected to boost the profile and competitive standard of the domestic circuit.
