Suryakumar Yadav has been left out of Mumbai's Ranji Trophy squad after failing to attend the team's pre-season camp, according to a report.
The former India T20I captain, who is now returning to domestic cricket after losing his place in the national side, did not take part in Mumbai's pre-season training sessions ahead of the squad announcement, despite making himself available for selection. Mumbai's red-ball players have been training for the past month, with preparations continuing on Tuesday at the Cricket Club of India and the MCA's BKC Ground.
"At the end, it is a team game. He does not have any immediate red-ball experience and everyone was unanimous in their decision on Suryakumar," a Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) source told Press Trust of India on Tuesday, adding that the selectors, otherwise, would have had to exclude a young player which "did not seem fair".
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According to the report, Suryakumar had also been non-responsive when approached by the selectors around 10 days ago regarding his availability for the Mumbai squad. He later made himself available for selection.
However, his lack of red-ball experience and absence from Mumbai's pre-season camp resulted in the 36-year-old being left out of the 16-member squad for their Ranji Trophy season opener against Chandigarh. The match will be played from October 11 to 14 at the Wankhede Stadium.
Suryakumar's chances of returning to the Mumbai squad are not completely over. He will now need to play club cricket organised by the MCA, including tournaments such as the Police Shield or the Purushottam Shield, to come back into contention.
There is no change in his white-ball prospects, though. The Mumbai selectors have conveyed to Suryakumar that he will be considered for domestic white-ball tournaments during the 2026-27 season.
Suryakumar, who led India to their third T20 World Cup title earlier this year, could also be in line to captain Mumbai. However, that will depend on the availability of Shreyas Iyer, who succeeded him as India's T20I captain.
Meanwhile, former Mumbai captain and India all-rounder Shardul Thakur will miss at least a month of action after suffering a hand injury during training. He is expected to miss a few Ranji Trophy matches.
Siddhesh Lad will captain Mumbai side this season. Their squad for the Ranji Trophy opener also includes India batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan, along with domestic circuit regulars Shams Mulani and Tushar Deshpande.
The four players were part of India A's 1-0 win in the recent unofficial Test series against Australia A.
(With PTI Inputs)
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