Suryakumar Yadav to lead Mumbai in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy; no place for Arjun Tendulkar

Suryakumar Yadav has been reinstated as the Mumbai captain for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) that begins on January 10. After watching the eight practice games involving four squads, the Salil Ankola-led selection committee picked a 20-member squad for the group stage matches that will be played in Mumbai.

All-rounder Arjun Tendulkar, the son of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, has failed to secure a spot in the 20-member squad.

Suryakumar Yadav’s IPL riches

Suryakumar Yadav, who was also Mumbai’s Ranji captain last season, has been one of the pillars for side’s batting in the recent years. He was among the star campaigners for Mumbai Indians (MI) in their successful Indian Premier League (IPL) title defence. He scored 480 runs this IPL season at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 145. In fact, he has scored over 400 runs in every IPL season since 2018.

The Mumbai batting giant was recently in the news for smashing a 47-ball 120 in one of the practice matches where he hit Arjun Tendulkar for 21 runs in an over. Through his consistent run, Suryakumar has been knocking the doors of the national side.

Wicketkeeper Aditya Tare has been appointed Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy. The squad includes players such as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Siddhesh Lad, Shivam Dube, Tushar Deshpande and Dhawal Kulkarni.

The selected players will have to report to the Wankhede Stadium on December 29 with negative COVID-19 test reports, before entering a bio-secure bubble on January 2. Every member will be tested thrice during their six-day isolation period.

Mumbai are placed in Group E alongside Haryana, Andhra, Kerala, Puducherry and a strong Delhi side that will be led by Shikhar Dhawan.

The Suryakumar Yadav-led Mumbai SMAT 2020-21 squad

Suryakumar Yadav (c), Aditya Tare (vc & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Siddhesh Lad, Shivam Dube, Shubham Ranjane, Aakarshit Gomel, Sujit Nayak, Tushar Deshpande, Dhawal Kulkarni, Minad Manjrekar, Prathamesh Dake, Sairaj Patil, Atharva Ankolekar, Shashank Attarde, Shams Mulani, Hardik Tamore, Akash Parkar, Sufiyan Shaikh.