Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2026: Rajat Patidar to lead Madhya Pradesh, Avesh Khan included in 15-member squad

Rajat Patidar has been named as Madhya Pradesh’s in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, starting on November 14. Madhya Pradesh have been drawn in Elite Group C of the competition and will play their first four matches in New Chandigarh and the remaining three games in Mohali.

Patidar, who has captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to IPL titles in 2025 and 2026, may not be available for the entire league phase of the competition. Patidar and left-arm fast bowling all-rounder Arshad Khan scheduled to link up with the India A team for the Men’s Rising Stars Asia Cup, scheduled to be played in Doha, Qatar, from November 19 to 29.

In the India A team, Patidar has been appointed as the deputy to skipper Tilak Varma. Apart from Patidar, who has played three Tests and an ODI for India, batters Akshat Raghuwanshi, Harsh Gawli and Aniket Verma will have to step up for Madhya Pradesh. There is still no place in the squad for seam-bowling all-rounder Madhav Tiwari, despite having featured for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026 and Ujjain Falcons in the Madhya Pradesh League T20 Scindia Cup 2026.

The squad features two wicketkeepers in Gawli and Apoorv Dwivedi, while India fast bowler Avesh Khan will spearhead a bowling unit that also includes Mangesh Yadav, left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya Singh, off-spinner Saransh Jain and left-arm wrist-spinner Shivang Kumar.

Pacer Kuldeep Sen has not been picked due to him currently nursing an unspecified injury. Madhya Pradesh will open its campaign against Kerala in a day-night game at New Chandigarh on November 14. They will then take on Assam on November 16, Tripura in another day-night encounter on November 18, and Andhra on November 20.

Madhya Pradesh is also scheduled to face Maharashtra on November 22, Himachal Pradesh on November 24 and Puducherry in their final group match on November 26. Should Patidar depart after the game against Assam, the Madhya Pradesh team management led by Chandrakant Pandit will need to name a stand-in captain for their remaining games.

Madhya Pradesh squad: Ankush Singh, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Harsh Gawli (wk), Rajat Patidar (captain), Aniket Verma, Ritik Tada, Apoorv Dwivedi (wk), Saransh Jain, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Shivam Shukla, Shivang Kumar, Avesh Khan, Tripuresh Singh, Rahul Batham, and Mangesh Yadav.