India batter Prithvi Shaw will face his former domestic team Mumbai when he represents Maharashtra in a three-day practice match at the MCA Stadium in Gahunje from October 7 to 9. Shaw, who debuted in First-Class cricket for Mumbai in the 2016-17 season and made his Test debut in 2018-19, switched allegiances after last season. He joins Maharashtra alongside experienced all-rounder Jalaj Saxena, who previously played for Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. Both Shaw and Saxena have been included in Maharashtra’s squad, which also features India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad. Mumbai, meanwhile, are expected to be captained by India all-rounder Shardul Thakur, who will take over the red-ball leadership from Ajinkya Rahane. However, the team will miss star batter Shreyas Iyer, who has taken a break from red-ball cricket due to a back issue. Iyer had already withdrawn from India A’s second four-day unofficial match against Australia A and India’s two-Test series against the West Indies. The Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) has announced free entry for fans to watch this practice match. Following this game, Mumbai are likely to announce their squad for the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy opener, expected on October 10 or 11. The 42-time Ranji champions are in Elite Group D and will begin their season against Jammu and Kashmir at Srinagar’s Sher-I-Kashmir Stadium from October 15-18. Other teams in Group D include Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Pondicherry. Maharashtra, placed in Elite Group B, will face Kerala in their season opener at Thiruvananthapuram from October 15-18. Group B also features last year’s finalists Kerala, Saurashtra, Chandigarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Goa.Squads:Mumbai: Shardul Thakur, Musheer Khan, Akhil Herwadkar, Suved Parkar, Siddhesh Lad, Shivam Dube, Akash Anand, Hardik Tamore, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Irfan Umair, Sylvester D’Souza, Royston Dias.Maharashtra: Prithvi Shaw, Arshin Kulkarni, Siddhesh Veer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ankeet Bawane (c), Saurabh Nawale (wk), Jalaj Saxena, Vicky Ostwal, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Pradeep Dhade, Hitesh Walunj, Mandar Bhandari (wk), Harshal Kate, Siddharth Mhatre, Rajwardhan Hangargekar, Rajneesh Gurbani.
