Madhya Pradesh name Rajat Patidar captain for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Rajat Patidar will lead Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy beginning November 14. However, his India A commitments could force him to miss part of the league phase. Madhav Tiwari has once again missed out on selection

Indore: Rajat Patidar has been named Madhya Pradesh’s captain for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, starting on November 14.

Madhya Pradesh have been drawn in Elite Group C of the competition and will play their first four matches in New Chandigarh and the remaining three in Mohali.

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Patidar, who led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to IPL titles in 2025 and 2026, may not be available for the entire league phase of the competition. Patidar and left-arm fast-bowling all-rounder Arshad Khan are scheduled to join the India A team for the Men’s Rising Stars Asia Cup, which will be played in Doha, Qatar, from November 19 to 29.

In the India A team, Patidar has been appointed deputy to skipper Tilak Varma. Apart from Patidar, who has played three Tests and an ODI for India, batters Akshat Raghuwanshi, Harsh Gawli and Aniket Verma will have to step up for Madhya Pradesh. There is still no place in the squad for seam-bowling all-rounder Madhav Tiwari, despite his appearances for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026 and Ujjain Falcons in the Madhya Pradesh League T20 Scindia Cup 2026.

The squad features two wicketkeepers, Gawli and Apoorv Dwivedi, while India fast bowler Avesh Khan will spearhead a bowling unit that also includes Mangesh Yadav, left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya Singh, off-spinner Saransh Jain and left-arm wrist-spinner Shivang Kumar.

Pacer Kuldeep Sen has not been picked as he is currently nursing an unspecified injury.

Madhya Pradesh will open their campaign against Kerala in a day-night game at New Chandigarh on November 14. They will then take on Assam on November 16, Tripura in another day-night encounter on November 18, and Andhra on November 20.

Madhya Pradesh are also scheduled to face Maharashtra on November 22, Himachal Pradesh on November 24 and Puducherry in their final group match on November 26.

Should Patidar leave after the match against Assam, the Madhya Pradesh team management, led by Chandrakant Pandit, will need to name a stand-in captain for the remaining games.

Madhya Pradesh squad: Ankush Singh, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Harsh Gawli (wk), Rajat Patidar (captain), Aniket Verma, Ritik Tada, Apoorv Dwivedi (wk), Saransh Jain, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Shivam Shukla, Shivang Kumar, Avesh Khan, Tripuresh Singh, Rahul Batham and Mangesh Yadav.