India T20I cricket team skipper Suryakumar Yadav and all-rounder Shivam Dube will not be a part of the next round of Ranji Trophy 2025/26 games. The duo, who last featured in the IND vs AUS T20I series, have informed the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) that they would like to prepare for the upcoming IND vs SA T20I series instead of being a part of the domestic red-ball tournament. The five-match T20I series against the Proteas is scheduled to begin from December 9 onwards.
SKY, Dube pull out of next round of Ranji Trophy
As per The Indian Express, Suryakumar has informed the MCA about his unavailability and the MCA has accepted the same after agreeing that he should focus on preparing for the T20 World Cup in 2026. The Indian T20I captain, has however, confirmed that he will feature in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Meanwhile, the report states that Dube has also informed of his unavailability and that the board is willing to consider it so that he can prepare for the T20Is against South Africa.
“Yadav has informed MCA that he won’t be available and we have accepted his request as we feel that with the T20 World Cup around the corner he should concentrate more on it. He has informed us that he will be available for Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare Trophy. As far as Dube is concerned, there is an upcoming T20I series against South Africa so he can prepare for the same. The selectors have picked Tanush Kotian and Mohit Awasthi for Mumbai’s next Ranji Trophy game,” a source in the MCA confirmed.
The report states that Tanush and Mohit have been named as replacements for the duo. The current Mumbai team is being led by Shardul Thakur after veteran Ajinkya Rahane stepped down before the start of the Ranji Trophy 2025/26 season.
SKY will be aiming to improve his game as much as possible after yet another sub-par series against Australia. The Indian captain managed to score just 84 runs in four innings in Down Under. Dube, on the other hand, managed to score 26 runs and took 3 wickets in the IND vs AUS T20Is, including a phenomenal spell in the 4th T20I.
