Mumbai: Suryakumar Yadav was dropped from Mumbai’s 16-member Ranji Trophy squad for their season opener against Chandigarh due to his persistent absence from the team’s pre-season training camp, a Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) source told PTI on Tuesday.
India’s former T20 International captain, who has returned to the domestic circuit after losing his spot in the national side, completely skipped the pre-season routines prior to the squad announcement, despite making himself available for selection.
Mumbai’s red-ball squad has been training for the past month, with sessions continuing on Tuesday at both 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,” the source said, adding that the selectors, otherwise, would have had to exclude a young player which “did not seem fair.”
It is understood that Suryakumar was also non-responsive when initially approached for selection around 10 days ago, making himself available only at a later stage.
His lack of recent red-ball match practice alongside his absence from the pre-season camp led to his omission from the 42-time Ranji Trophy champions’ team for their opening fixture from October 11-14 at the Wankhede Stadium.
Selection doors remain open for the 36-year-old, who last played in the T20 Mumbai League following the IPL. To re-enter contention, he will need to participate in MCA-organized club tournaments, such as the Police Shield or the Purushottam Shield.
His standing in white-ball cricket remains unaffected. Mumbai selectors have informed Suryakumar that he will be considered for the upcoming domestic limited-overs tournaments in the 2026-27 season. Suryakumar, who captained India to their third T20 World Cup title earlier this year, remains in line to lead Mumbai if Shreyas Iyer, his successor in the national side, is unavailable.
In other team news, former Mumbai captain and India all-rounder Shardul Thakur will be out of action for at least a month with a hand injury sustained during practice.
Led by Siddhesh Lad this season, Mumbai’s squad for the opening match includes India batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan, alongside Shams Mulani and Tushar Deshpande, both fresh off India A’s 1–0 unofficial Test series victory against Australia A. (PTI)