Prithvi Shaw returns, Ajinkya Rahane appointed captain of Mumbai

India international Ajinkya Rahane will lead the Mumbai team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the domestic T20 tournament, which will be played in Indore from February 21 to 28.

Ajinkya Rahane was appointed captain and young opener Prithvi Shaw returned to competitive cricket after almost three months as Mumbai announced their 15-member squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali domestic T20 Trophy starting February 21.

The selection panel led by former India pacer Ajit Agarkar decided to include Prithvi Shaw, who regained full fitness after sustaining an ankle the injury while fielding in a warm-up match at Adelaide ahead of India’s four-match Test series. The injury ruled Shaw out of the entire series and he had to undergo a rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

Rahane, meanwhile, will resume his quest to regain his ODI spot back. The preparations for IPL will also be on the back of the mind of the Rajasthan Royals’ star.

Other batting regulars Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad, Surya Kumar Yadav and experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Aditya Tare have been named in the squad

The bowling attack will be led by former India pacer Dhawal Kulkarni. A few eyes will be on all-rounder Shivam Dube who bagged a 5-crore IPL deal with Royal Challengers Bangalore for his impressive show in the Ranji Trophy.

Mumbai, who flopped in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy, had won the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the domestic One-day tournament, earlier in the season.

Mumbai start their campaign against Sikkim on February 21 at Indore.

Mumbai squad for Syed Mustaq Ali T20s 2019: Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Dhawal Kulkarni, Siddhesh Lad, Aditya Tare, Surya Kumar Yadav, Akash Parkar, Eknath Kerkar, Dhurmil Matkar, Shams Mulani, Shubham Ranjane, Tushar Deshpande and Royston Dias.