Suryakumar’s last first-class appearance was in February 2025.
Suryakumar and Shreyas Iyer, it is understood, are in contention for the Mumbai 50-over (Vijay Hazare Trophy) and T20 (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy) squads, but their availability, especially when it comes to Iyer, will decide whether they are given leadership roles.
“Shardul has a small fracture in his right middle finger [sustained at training]. So maybe he will miss two matches. So we left him out of the first match. After two matches, we will know his status,” Pawar said, adding that the decision to change the captain after Mumbai’s quarter-final exit in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy was planned, and wasn’t a reaction to the injury. Thakur had taken over the captaincy from Ajinkya Rahane at the start of the previous season.
“Our new captain for this season is Siddhesh Lad. The selection committee decided to make him the captain because of his performance last season, and he is also very experienced,” Pawar said. “We also wanted a junior cricketer to be vice-captain, someone who is our future, so we have chosen Ayush Mhatre, who led India at the [2026] Under-19 World Cup. He is a smart cricketer and has been performing well. We wanted to promote a younger cricketer.”
“It’s a good thing that Yashasvi is available. He also needs match practice. We asked him and he told us that he was available,” Pawar said. “It’s good. I guess he will be going to New Zealand [for the all-format series starting October 22] after this and might also be in an ‘A’ squad. That I don’t know. Anyway, that’s why we picked him only for the first game.”
The first round of the Ranji Trophy will be played from October 11 to 14, with Mumbai taking on Chandigarh at the Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai’s red-ball players have been training at the Brabourne Stadium and at the Bandra-Kurla Complex premises for the past month or so.