The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) have announced their squad for the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. Shubman Sharma has been replaced as captain, with Rajat Patidar taking over. The 32-year-old had previously refused to lead in first-class cricket but has decided to change his mind.
Patidar’s captaincy arc
Perhaps his recent ascendancy has made Patidar have a change of heart. About 2 weeks ago, he had taken Central Zone to the 2025 Duleep Trophy title. Earlier in the year, he handed Royal Challengers Bengaluru their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy in his debut captaincy season.
One can’t forget that Patidar was Madhya Pradesh’s captain in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) last season. Now, he’ll be MP’s all-format captain.
Avesh Khan out with injury
Avesh Khan hasn’t been selected for the Ranji Trophy. The right-arm fast bowler had undergone knee surgery on June 17 in Mumbai. Avesh had missed one Ranji match last season due to his knee issues. But he played the entire IPL 2025 season for the Lucknow Super Giants. Avesh has been rehabbing at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. He is likely to return in the second leg of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season.
Madhya Pradesh squad for 2025-26 Ranji Trophy
Rajat Patidar (c), Yash Dubey, Harsh Gawli, Shubham Sharma, Himanshu Mantri, Harpreet Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Sagar Solanki, Kumar Kartikey, Saransh Jain, Adheer Pratap, Aryan Pandey, Arshad Khan, Anubhav Agarwal, Kuldeep Sen
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