MUMBAI: In a decision along expected lines, India’s Test allrounder Shardul Thakur was on Friday named Mumbai captain for the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season.The 33-year-old had captained West Zone in the Duleep Trophy semifinal earlier this month.Appointing Thakur as the new skipper, the Mumbai selectors, led by Sanjay Patil, also announced a list of 24 probables for the season. The list will be pruned before the squad is named for the opening match against Jammu & Kashmir at Srinagar from October 15.Thakur has taken 302 first-class wickets in 97 matches, with a best haul of 7/61 against South Africa in 2021. With the bat, he has scored 2,688 runs , including two hundreds and a top score of 119. He has also featured in 14 Tests, claiming 33 wickets.“Shardul as the new Mumbai captain was a unanimous choice. He attended the selection committee meeting today and is very excited and keen to take on the added responsibility,” Mumbai Cricket Association secretary Abhay Hadap told TOI.The name of star batter Shreyas Iyer is missing from the probables as the 30-year-old has sought a six-month break from red-ball cricket.Interestingly, the selectors have ignored 17-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Pragyan Kundu, who struck match-winning knocks of 87 not out and 71 for India U-19 against Australia U-19 recently. Instead, Hardik Tamore and Akash Anand have been picked for the keeping duties.Thakur replaces Ajinkya Rahane, who quit captaincy on August 21, choosing to play only as a batter. Thakur, who was part of India’s recent England tour, has been left out of the upcoming two-Test series against the West Indies.The list of probables also includes middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan, recovering from an injury sustained during the Buchi Babu Trophy, and pacer Tushar Deshpande, returning after ankle surgery. Allrounder Musheer Khan also makes the cut.Probables: Shardul Thakur (captain), Ayush Mhatre, Musheer Khan, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Akhil Herwadkar, Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan, Siddhesh Lad, Suved Parkar, Suryansh Shedge, Akash Parkar, Tushar Deshpande, Sylvester D’Souza, Irfan Umair, Roystan Dias, Pratik Mishra, Akash Anand (wk), Hardik Tamore (wk), Prasad Pawar (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Atharva Ankolekar, Ishan Mulchandani.
