Suryakumar Yadav named captain of Mumbai team ahead of IPL 2027 auction; Know here
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Suryakumar Yadav recently played in a local T20 tournament in Mumbai.
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2026 will start in less than a week, and all participating teams are gearing up with their best squads. SMAT is the premier domestic T20 league in India; thus, all sides will aim to deliver their best performances in the upcoming tournament.
A total of 38 teams will participate in the competition, which starts on Saturday, November 14. All the teams are divided into four Elite groups (eight teams each) and one Plate group (six teams) for the competition. The first match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2026 will be played between the Plate group’s Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
Recently, news about Hardik Pandya being ruled out of the tournament due to injury concerns and Nitish Rana not being selected for Delhi became the main topic of discussion among Indian cricket fans. However, the cricket world is currently elated because former Indian T20I team captain Suryakumar Yadav’s return to action has been confirmed.
Suryakumar Yadav set to lead Mumbai at SMAT 2026
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ICC T20 World Cup-winning skipper Suryakumar Yadav has been named the captain of Mumbai for the 2026 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Yadav guided the Men in Blue towards their third T20 World Cup title earlier this year, in March.
However, the tournament final against New Zealand also turned out to be his last game in Indian colours. His struggle with consistency and form has haunted him since the last IPL. Suryakumar Yadav also lost his place in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy side and eventually played in the President’s Cup, a local tournament.
According to PTI, Shreyas Iyer was Mumbai’s first choice to lead Mumbai in the tournament; however, his unavailability forced them to hand the captaincy to Yadav.
Talking about the IPL, Rohit Sharma, as per various media reports, is all set to be reappointed as Mumbai Indians captain, as Hardik Pandya will be joining the Punjab Kings in a trade deal involving Arshdeep Singh. Suryakumar Yadav, alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Tilak Varma, were the other captaincy options for the five-time champions; however, they decided to go with the most experienced player in the line-up.
Mumbai’s squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2026-27
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Divyansh Saxena, Suved Parkar, Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Sairaj Patil, Shivam Dube, Atharva Ankolekar, Shams Mulani, Maxwell Swaminathan, Tushar Deshpande, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, Sylvester Dsouza and Hardik Tamore (wk).
Who are the other big names in Mumbai’s SMAT line-up?
Tushar Deshpande, Shardul Thakur, and Shivam Dube.
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